There is nothing worse than finding a mouldy piece of fruit in the bottom of a bag. Whoever thought that mouldy bread would lead to a the development of modern antibiotics? More cultures that you might know used mould to help prevent infection. Poultices of mouldy bread were used in ancient Egypt, ancient India, and ancient Greece, and penicillin, the important antibiotic, is derived from mould spores.
Mould spores are everywhere just waiting for the right environment to grow and multiply in. But what is the best environment for them? Is it cold or warm? Sunny or dark? This bread mould experiment will help your child find out, while developing important hypothesis and experiment-building skills.
What You Need:
❑ 3 pieces of bread
❑ 3 resealable plastic bags
❑ Permanent marker
❑ Water
What You Do:
- Put bread in all three bags.
- In one bag, add a little water and place that bag in a dark place. Place the next bag in the refrigerator. Place the last bag in a sunny area. Make sure each bag is sealed tightly. Label them with a marker.
- While you wait for the results, work with your child to develop a hypothesis as to what will happen to each bag of bread. Think about where mould grows naturally. What conditions does your child think are conducive to mould growth in nature?
- Check each bag daily to record any changes you see, and compare the results with your child’s hypothesis.
Do You Know?
Different types of mould grow in the dark versus the light, cold versus warm.
All mould is dangerous to eat. If you ever have a slice of mouldy bread it is recommended that the whole loaf be thrown out. Mould spores are microscopic and are already all over the entire loaf even if colonies haven’t developed.
