The Fungal Education and Outreach section of the British Mycological Society aims to promote the knowledge of fungi and fungal science at all levels from junior school, through secondary school and universities, to adults including the general public and teachers. We provide a variety of resources for education and outreach activities such as school lesson plans, University teaching materials, and displays for general public events.
Through our public outreach activities we seek to engage all who have an interest in fungi, such as individuals who are interested in the natural world and wish to learn more about the fungi that inhabit it or gardeners seeking knowledge of fungal friends and foes. We seek to enthuse and provide support to teachers wishing to convey knowledge of fungi to their pupils and we provide resources for them to do this effectively, and of course we wish children of all ages to be fascinated by the fungal kingdom and what this truly amazing kingdom has to offer both us and our world.
‘Mycokids’ seeks to capture an early interest in the fascinating world of the fungi. Meet Dingy Twiglet, Frosty Funnel and their friends as they discover more about the Kingdom ‘Fungi’. Try out our fun kitchen science activities at home or use our resources to plan a ‘fun with fungi’ day in school for ‘Beginners’ (5 – 11 year olds; KS1-2; Years 1-6).
A number of activities for children in lower secondary education are provided on this website, but the majority of our teaching resources are located at www.fungi4schools.org.
We hope to expand our range of activities further, with each topic linked directly to the National Curriculum and meeting the needs of current UK exam boards.
We provide a number of resources for ‘Intermediate’ learning which include fungal science investigations that can be performed to test scientific rigour. At home why not make ‘fungus paper’ or ‘fungus dyes’. If you have the technology then why not ‘blog’ a ‘fungus find’ through the BMS ‘social link’ and then log it with iSpot.
For higher education and advanced learners (post-16 through to University undergraduate and postgraduate levels) we give student support and advice on careers in fungal science. We also supply resources and lecture materials for those teachers and lecturers involved in both post 16 and higher education University teaching.