As a middle school science teacher in Chicago, I'm always looking for ways to make science tangible. I believe that students learn best when they can engage with real phenomena, collect meaningful data, and solve problems related to their lived experiences. Mushrooms provided all of that, and more, by connecting biology, ecology, engineering, sustainability, and food systems into one project.
When parents, other teachers, and administrators heard that students were growing mushrooms in my classroom they mostly imagined it as a fun science demonstration added on to our indoor and outdoor gardening work; to be honest, when I first started planning to teach mycology, I thought much of the same. As it turned out, growing mushrooms became one of the richest scientific experiences my students had all year. Instead of just watching fungi grow, students leveraged the opportunity to become hands-on researchers, problem-solving engineers, authentic data collectors, and true environmental scientists and teachers for our community.
Pink Oyster Mushrooms from North Spore’s Fruiting Blocks
Photos from the Cook Off event
Each year, my students put the food they grow to meaningful use throughout our classroom and school community. This year, they decided the mushrooms we cultivated would serve as the mystery ingredient in our annual Culinary Cook Off (students partner with our cafeteria staff in a cooking competition inspired by Chopped!). While teams compete in the kitchen, other students host our annual Grow and Tell event, leading curiosity stations where they share what they've learned about urban agriculture, food production, cultivation techniques, environmental sustainability, and the living systems they've managed throughout the year. Beyond feeding people, our harvest also supports our classroom ecosystem, providing fresh produce for our class pet (a vegetarian uromastyx) and organic materials that help sustain our arthropod communities.
Our class uromastyx, Yoshi, and a student holding a Madagascar hissing cockroach
Before growing anything, students took ownership of the project by researching different mushroom species using resources from North Spore and other scientific sources. They compared growth rates, environmental requirements, appearance, culinary uses, and ease of cultivation before presenting evidence to one another. Based on their research, they selected Blue Oyster and Pink Oyster mushrooms because they were relatively easy to cultivate, shared similar growing conditions, produced striking fruiting bodies, and, perhaps most importantly, were delicious enough to shine in the Culinary Cook Off.
Blue Oyster Mushrooms from North Spore’s Fruiting Blocks
Once the species were selected, students transformed our class into a functioning mini farm. Students learned that the mushrooms they chose don't simply "grow,” but that they require carefully controlled environmental conditions. It was extremely interesting to do this project alongside our indoor plant growing to compare and contrast the environmental needs as well as compare data between the two different types of organisms. Students monitored environmental conditions like humidity, temperature, light, growth rates, morphological changes, air exchange rates, and more. Rather than being teacher-directed, students were responsible for taking and sharing detailed notes and making adjustments based on new information and/or whenever environmental conditions changed. Every day became an opportunity to ask new scientific questions.
Students were able to get multiple flushes of mushrooms. Cultivated mushrooms grow in discrete cycles rather than continuously, and a mushroom flush is a synchronized wave of mushroom fruiting. This was essential for us so the mushrooms could be used in our events!
Watching our student chefs try and make sense of the mushrooms in the cooking competition was amazing. Many had never cooked with mushrooms before so watching them learn and see their recipes come together was extremely fun and rewarding. While some cooked, other students proudly featured their work during our annual Grow and Tell, a community event where families explored student-led environmental projects.
The impressive mushrooms were the hit of the event. Students explained the biology of fungi, described how they maintained the growing environment, discussed why they selected Blue and Pink Oyster mushrooms, and shared what they had learned.
A student presents her learning about mushrooms to the community
Watching middle school students confidently explain fungal biology to families reminded me that authentic science creates authentic ownership. Students weren't presenting a poster about mushrooms, they were presenting their mushrooms.
The North Spore mushroom project transformed what was already an exciting unit into one of the most memorable learning experiences my students have had. Decomposers are often the overlooked members of an ecosystem, usually getting a brief mention before moving on to producers and consumers. This year, that wasn't the case as the project allowed students to experience decomposers beyond simply reading a textbook and became something they could see, touch, smell, measure, and care for. They weren't just learning about fungi, they became mycologists in a way that no diagram or video ever could.
Compost from the mushrooms helped support the next generation of growth inside
One of the most powerful learning experiences came after the harvest. Instead of treating the spent mushroom blocks as trash, students composted them, completing the very nutrient cycle they had spent weeks studying. They watched our classroom decomposers (arthropods and worms) break down the organic matter and recycle it into compost. That compost was then, in turn, used in our next generation of classroom herbs and vegetables as well as being used in our restored pocket prairie outside. Students were able to see, in real time, how they could return nutrients to the soil and support the next generation of life. Nothing was wasted; everything became part of another living system. That simple act helped students understand that sustainability is something they could practice every day, regardless of where they lived or their experience level.
Students used compost outside to support our urban pocket prairie
Looking back, the mushrooms became so much more than a classroom project. They connected life science, environmental science, engineering, food systems, and community engagement while giving students real ownership over their learning. Students planned the project, cared for living organisms, shared their harvest with our community, and taught others what they had learned. That's the kind of science I want my students to experience, and I already can't wait to grow mushrooms with next year's classes.
Ryan Johnson is a middle school science teacher in the Gage Park neighborhood of Chicago. He lives on the far south side with his lovely wife, three dogs, and a variety of scaled friends that crawl, slither, and swim. Science has been his favorite subject since he dissected his first owl pellet in 4th grade...which his wife thinks is gross.