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Teaching Workshop
Fungi in the
Air

🗓️ 22 March 2025

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Students in Years 8–12 explore airborne fungal spores through hands-on activities and real DNA data.

📸 Students sorting 'spore' samples during the activity — bringing science to life, one sequence at a time.

  • Practice aligning DNA fragments to reference sequences.

  • Identify and quantify fungal spores.

  • Interpret real pathogen surveillance data.

  • Create graphs and visuals to represent trends.

Workshop Highlights

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DNA Matching  

     

    Students compare their sequences to    printed references to identify species.  

 

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Building a Visual Display     

 

    Identified spores are sorted into containers by species — creating a live chart of spore distribution.

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    Spore Simulation

       Paper “spores” scattered across the room simulate airborne particles.

       

       Each contains a DNA sequence to be decoded.
 



 
 

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  Scientific Thinking

       Students explore how weather, seasons, and environment affect spore presence.

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Content Credits: Benjamin Schwessinger and Sonja Brodersen

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