Exhibiting slime mold

[jnnstl]

Hi again!

I am looking to exhibit slime mold and was wondering what might be the best choice of lighting for this? Knowing that the organism prefers it dark, so ideally no light, how could I still let people observe its growth during an exhibition with their bare eyes?

Does one of the following strategies sound applicable: a blinking light, going on and off every once in a while (what would be an ideal sequence for something like this?) or a very dim light? Would anyone here have experience of how slime mold reacts to black light, for example?

Best,

Jnnstl

[ian]

Hi

I've filmed them over the course of a week using low light ( desk lamp about 1m away ) and they've been fine, it doesn't seem to affect their growth. If you need something brighter, they can't 'see' yellow light at all. I've left cultures out in decently lit rooms and they're ok for a day or two but tend to sporulate after that.

[jnnstl]

Thank you, ian!

[Ophélie Queffurus]

I had the same question as you Jnnstl and thought about a kind of sensor so each time someone is approaching the petri dish, a light would turn on but if a low light works fine I'm definitely considering this option!