What is Mushroom Maynia? It’s a super cute event hosted by the Puget Sound Mycological Society (PSMS) in May of each year, and this year, it’s May 21st, 2017 — this coming Sunday! I had a lovely time last year, but I never got around to posting my photos. So I thought this would be the perfect time to do so as a teaser.
Specimens & Mushroom Products
Like any good science fair, this event has its share of freaks of nature. Huge, weird mushrooms are on display, along with lots of classification info and descriptions of the mushroom-hunting trips taken by the members of PSMS. At their book stall, I ended up buying an affordable little volume to help me identify mushrooms in the Pacific Northwest, though unfortunately I haven’t even used it to try to figure out what is growing in my yard.
Even freakier are some products made of mushrooms, such as dyes for yarn and even crayons! These plus a puppet show are a few of the various activities for kids at the event.
Mushroom Kit Maynia
One of the most fun, hands-on stations was the DIY mushroom kit, which of course I’ve written up in detail here. It’s great to go home with a kit that will yield a few pounds of oyster mushrooms so you can carry the excitement of Mushroom Maynia forward to the next few weeks. And I do recommend this hands-on training for pre-school teachers, summer camp counselors, or others who might want to do a kit-making workshop as a way of teaching kids about fungi, which are their own kingdom, separate from plants and animals!
Trying to spritz the mushroom kit
What else was going on at Mushroom Maynia? I remember tasting two kinds of sautéed mushrooms, which were delicious. And I chatted with some experts and enthusiasts.
It was fun to geek out. And it’s also just a nice excuse to visit the UW Horticultural Center, which is an reclaimed landfill site that has been ecologically restored and is very nice to walk around. It is quite full of birds, and has peaceful views of Lake Washington.
So if you’re mushroom-curious and looking for something out of the ordinary to do this Sunday in Seattle, I recommend this event!
