Items needed:
- Spore print from The Spore Drop
- Sterile 10 mL syringe and needles (16 gauge preferred)
- Unopened bottle drinking water
- 70% isopropyl alcohol
- Paper towels
- Syringe cap (optional)
Steps:
- Wipe down area with 70% isopropyl alcohol
- Turn off any fans and restrict any air movement
- Open up syringe and needle and attach them together
- Unwrap spore print
- Open bottle of water and pull up 10 mL of clean bottled water
- Inject 5 mL of clean water into the bottom of the petri dish (where spores are located)
- Using the tip of the needle, scrape the spores to suspend them in the water solution
- Tilting the petri dish at a 45o angle, pull up the water/spore solution
- You may have to hold syringe perpendicular to the table (needle facing up) and press plunger down to remove any air gaps
- You now have a spore syringe full of mushroom spores that can then be placed on a glass slide with cover slip to view the spores under a microscope
- Microscopes must be capable of 400x-1000x magnification to clearly observe spore features
- Spore syringe can be used immediately or replace the needle with a syringe cap and place in refrigerator for long term storage
