Mycelium Skulls for Día De Los Muertos / Day of the Dead

BIOCRAFTERS!

Explore the emerging field of biomaterials hands-on by growing a Day of the Dead skull from mycelium, the usually unseen body of mushrooms.

Growing mycelium is an excellent introduction to biomaterials because it grows quickly and students can use the stiff foam-like material for take home crafts. The dried skulls can be glued or painted.

Great project for Biology classes (growth parameters of fungi, cellular respiration), but tangents other STEM subjects (making skills, graphing data, design, etc.).

Students will:

Understand the growth parameters of the fungal microorganism
Grow the mycelium and track its progress
Harvest the biomass and dry it
Decorate their skull
Discuss environmental impact of biomaterials

Supplies

SUPPLIES

(1) Isopropyl Alcohol 70% [Amazon]

(1) Spray bottle for alcohol [Amazon]

(2 pair per student) Disposable gloves [Amazon]

(1 per student) Safety Goggles [Amazon]

(1-2 rolls) Paper Towels [Amazon]

(4 rolls) Micropore tape [Amazon]

(1 per student) Plastic skulls, hollow (Dollar Tree had these for $1.25)

(1 bag per 3-4 students) GIY Material from Grow.bio [sign up for teacher discount!] (Each bag makes ~.9 Gallon of material. Measure your molds using a water displacement method)

(1/2 c per bag of GIY) Flour (Can use gluten free flour or maltodextrin to avoid allergies) [Amazon]

(2 per bag of GIY) Binder clips / Chip clips [Amazon]

(3 cups per bag ) Water, filtered, distilled, or "spring" (no chlorinated tap water)

TOOLS

(1) Scissors [Amazon]

(1) Utility knife with fresh blade, TEACHER ONLY [Amazon]

(1) Tablespoon measuring spoon [Amazon]

(1) Spoon for stirring (maybe measure can do both)

(1) Measuring cup for liquids (1 cup or larger) [Amazon]

(1) large bowl or bucket (clean!) [Amazon]

OPTIONAL

(Several) Drying racks [Amazon]

(1) Dehydrator or oven, if you are in a very humid climate [Amazon]

LESSON PLANS

Teacher Guide

Intro to Fungi

Fungi Lifecycle

Step 1: Clean Clean Clean!

Put on Safety Goggles! I'm a professional and I have gotten all kinds of chemicals in my eyes because I thought "I'll just carefully spray here..." *Splatter Hits Eyes* "ARRRGH...@#%&!"... and so on. Wear them.
Fill spray bottle with the rubbing alcohol.
Wash your hands
Wear gloves
Spray alcohol to clean your tools and workspace to prevent mold or other competing organisms from getting into your culture
Spray your gloved hands, rub together, and dry with a clean paper towel

Step 2: Mix Up the Growing Media

Cut open the bag of GIY Material above the filter.
Measure 3 cups of water
Mix 4 Tablespoons of flour into the water and stir
Pour the flour water mixture into the GIY Material bag
Roll down the top of the bag 3 times and seal it with clips or tape. Leave the filter uncovered so it can breathe.
Shake the bag while holding the sealed top to keep it closed. Shake until everything is well mixed and there are no dry spots.

Step 3: Waiting for Mycelium to Grow

Mycelium wants to grow at room temperature (~72 F) in a "shady" spot, with no direct sunlight. On a shelf away from windows, or in a closet, or in a cabinet will work.
Check it every day. Look at the bag for signs of growth. Mycelium will grow as white patches
When it is covered in white mycelium, it is ready to pack into the molds.

Step 4: What the Heck... Hyphae?

Mycelium will "eat" the flour and grow root-like hyphae. As these individual

white strands grow and intertwine, they bind together the particles of the growing media.

Step 5: Cut Skulls Open for Molds

TEACHER ONLY

Find a way to cut these skulls open without looking like you were attacked by a wolverine. Just sayin'. I had a hard time... Eventually, I figured this out.

I braced the bottom of the knife on a table and always cut downward toward the table.

Would a Dremel / rotary tool with a plastic cutter work better?

Or some of those electric scissors? Try it and let me know

Step 6: Pack the Skull Molds

Wash your hands
Spray alcohol to clean your tools and workspace to prevent mold or other competing organisms from getting into your project. Dry thoroughly before adding mycelium.
Wear gloves
Spray your gloved hands, rub together, and dry with a clean paper towel
Open the grow bag and dump the mycelium into the large bowl or bucket
Break it up
Mix in 4 Tablespoons of flour. Mix it really good so the flour is well distributed and there are no large clumps. Use your gloved hands.

Step 7: Waiting...again

Step 8: Careers in Biomaterials and Biofabrication

There is so much exciting work to be done!

Not just for scientists and engineers, but also artists, product designers, fashion designers, chefs, nutritionists, wildlife advocates, farmers, architects, and builders. Diverse career opportunities in biomaterials and biofabrication spread across disciplines, disrupting industries and driving innovation in ways that once seemed like science fiction:

3D printing living tissue constructs and growing pharmaceuticals
Artists crafting living, interactive installations.
Product designers creating eco-friendly products, sustainable textiles.
Growing electronic devices.
Farmers growing biofuel from waste.
Growing unique culinary ingredients or nutritious superfoods
Growing safer pest control for agriculture
Building healthy "living" buildings.
Navigating the complex ethics surrounding the production and use of biofabricated entities.
Optimizing growth processes by analyzing bioinformatics data.
Cleaning up environmental disasters.

Sound interesting?