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need to survive. Create your own mini-ecosystem of these remarkable
creatures in the activity below.

1. Add water and a handful of grass to the Mason Jar

2. Put the lid on the jar but don’t seal it all the way

3. Keep the jar in a dark area for three days

4. Take it out and make observations. If possible, observe the organisms
under a microscope.

What’s happening: Protozoa and other protists live of the grass, and
increase in number after the jar is in the dark for several days.

What Makes the Mold Grow?

What do you think makes mold grow? Being in a dark place? Being exposed

to moisture? Something else? The scientific method is a series of steps
some scientists use to answer question and solve problems. To conduct an
experiment based on the scientific method, you must have a control sample,
which has nothing done to it, and several experimental samples, which have
changes made to them. You can then observe results in the experimental
sample to see how your changes to them affect results.

1. Take five pieces of bread. Place one in a pie tin and leave it on the
kitchen counter. This is your “control” bread.

2. Place the other pieces of bread in pie tins and do something you think
will help make mold grow. These are experimental samples.

3. Every day, observe each slice of bread and take notes.

4. What made the mold grow fastest? Did anything slow down mold
growth, and form less mold than the control?

5. What does this tell us about food storage?

What’s Happening: You probably found that mold grows well in the dark, and
warm conditions. So, if you want to make your bread last longer, keep it
cool and out of the dark.

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