The idea of this experiment is to determine where moulds grow best.
Things Required:
Coconut
Rubber band
Bread sack
Directions:
Ask an adult to break the coconut and pour out the liquid. Expose the open coconut to the air for 2 hours. Put the coconut pieces back together and secure with a rubber band.
Place the coconut in a bread sack and place in a warm dark place for one week. Look at the outside and inside of the coconut daily for any growth.
This Is What Happens:
The outside of the coconut seems unchanged while the inside has different coloured spots on it.
Science Behind It:
Mould is a form of fungus, a Latin word meaning food-robbing. The coloured coconut garden contains different types of fungi that came from the air. They cannot make their own food because they have no chlorophyll, so they must steal food from their host organism. Fungi are all around you-in the air, on your clothes, skin, hair. They must have air, food and water to live and when they land on a nice moist airy piece of food like your coconut, they thrive very well.
