Twelve-plus guided projects across three modules for students and classrooms — each one building on the last. This bio STEM kit curriculum covers DIY laser printer assembly, Mucor fungal growth biology, and living fungus art creation powered by neural cellular automata.
Original design by FunguyLab — original curriculum, hardware, software & method, built on our SIGGRAPH Asia 2024 research.
The kit and its digital curriculum are just the beginning. Learn online at your own pace, grow living art together in the same room — or partner with us to push the research forward.
A self-paced online course through the full Build → Grow → Design journey — video lessons, the neural-growth simulator, and design challenges — so anyone can learn the method, with or without a kit in hand.
Led, hands-on workshops for schools, museums, maker fairs, and studios — groups build, inoculate, and print living bio-art together, guided from box to finished plate in a single session.
We're recruiting collaborating labs — university research groups, school science departments, museums, and studios — to pilot the method, explore new species and light behaviors, and co-develop studies and curriculum with us.
Assemble, calibrate, and understand your laser printer — then run your first print.
Identify every component, understand its function, and plan the build sequence. Skill: systems thinking.
Assemble the two-axis frame and mount the stepper motors. Run a manual axis test in the software. Skill: mechanical assembly, CNC basics.
Mount the laser head, connect to the controller, and calibrate focus and alignment on paper. Skill: optics, precision, safety protocol.
Connect to the software, run a test pattern, and verify each axis and laser response. Skill: hardware/software communication, debugging.
Understand Mucor — its growth, its response to light, and how to control it.
Mix, pour, and set agar plates with sterile technique. Inoculate with Mucor spores and observe the first 24 hours. Skill: lab technique, sterile procedure.
Track fungal spread with daily photos and the time-lapse feature. Plot a growth curve and identify variables that affect it. Skill: data collection, graphing.
Use the laser at low power on an uninoculated zone and measure the inhibition boundary. Determine the minimum effective exposure. Skill: controlled experiment, cause & effect.
Print a simple shape (square, circle) and observe whether the fungus respects the laser boundary. Iterate on exposure settings. Skill: iteration, scientific method.
Use the full software system, understand the AI simulator, and create original bio-art.
Use the design canvas to create a custom shape. Compare the software's growth simulation to your real fungal results. Skill: computational design, model vs. reality.
Learn how the neural cellular automaton in the simulator was trained. Tweak growth and decay parameters; observe how the simulated output changes. Skill: AI literacy, parameter sensitivity.
Design your initials, generate the laser path, print, and grow. Document the result against the simulation. Skill: design iteration, communication.
Design, predict, print, and grow an original work. Document process and results, present to peers or publish online. Skill: synthesis, creative & scientific communication.
Each session maps to the projects above and is designed for a 60–90 minute class period. Sessions can be compressed into 3 days for intensive workshops, or spread over 2–3 weeks for a standard semester elective unit.
Every Mycelian Micro session maps to named performance expectations from NGSS and CSTA K–12 CS Framework. Use this table to justify curriculum adoption or complete your department's alignment documentation.
| Code | Performance expectation | Sessions |
|---|---|---|
| NGSS · Life Science (LS) | ||
| MS-LS1-1 | Conduct an investigation to provide evidence that living things are made of cells | S2 |
| MS-LS1-5 | Construct a scientific explanation for how environmental factors influence organism growth | S2, S3 |
| NGSS · Engineering Design (ETS) | ||
| MS-ETS1-1 | Define criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision | S1 |
| MS-ETS1-3 | Analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences among design solutions | S3 |
| HS-ETS1-2 | Design a solution to a complex real-world problem by breaking it into smaller, manageable sub-problems | S1, S5 |
| HS-ETS1-3 | Evaluate a solution based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs, including safety and environmental impact | S5 |
| HS-ETS1-4 | Use a computer simulation to model the impact of proposed solutions to a complex real-world problem | S4 |
| NGSS · Physical Science (PS) | ||
| MS-PS4-2 | Develop and use a model to describe that waves are reflected, absorbed, or transmitted through materials | S3 |
| NGSS · Science & Engineering Practices (SEP) | ||
| SEP-2 | Developing and using models to represent systems and predict behavior | S1, S4 |
| SEP-3 | Planning and carrying out investigations with appropriate controls and measurements | S2, S3 |
| SEP-4 | Analyzing and interpreting data to identify patterns and relationships | S2 |
| SEP-6 | Constructing explanations supported by evidence and communicating to peers | S5 |
| CSTA K–12 CS Framework | ||
| 2-CS-02 | Design projects that combine hardware and software components to collect and exchange data (Gr. 6–8) | S1 |
| 2-DA-08 | Collect data using computational tools and transform the data to make it more useful and reliable (Gr. 6–8) | S2 |
| 2-AP-10 | Use flowcharts and/or pseudocode to address complex problems as algorithms (Gr. 6–8) | S4 |
| 2-AP-13 | Decompose problems and subproblems into parts to facilitate design, implementation, and review (Gr. 6–8) | S1, S3 |
| 3A-AP-13 | Create prototypes that use algorithms to solve computational problems by leveraging personal interests (Gr. 9–12) | S4, S5 |
| 3A-IC-24 | Evaluate the ways computing impacts personal, ethical, social, economic, and cultural practices (Gr. 9–12) | S4, S5 |
The full educator pack (Classroom edition) includes this map as a printable PDF with lesson-by-lesson detail. Request a preview →
By the capstone, a learner has built a machine, cultivated a living organism, and used software to make them cooperate — hands-on learning that follows the same research loop the original paper describes.
Full lesson plans, group challenge modes, and assessment rubrics for running Mycelian Micro in a classroom, after-school program, or maker club setting.
The full digital curriculum is included with every kit and updates for free as we add projects.
Order the kit →
