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Science Project With Moldy Cheese

Mold may be disgusting when you find it on food and other places. Some mold is harmful to your health, but some mold serves a purpose. One example of the use of beneficial molds is in medicine, as is the case with penicillin. Humans also eat certain types of mold; mushrooms, a fungi, are the most common mold, also a fungi, that people eat. Mold grows at different rates and depends on the host -- what the mold is growing on -- and the environment. Performing a simple experiment using cheese will help you learn about mold growth.

Take a Tour of Your Home
- Walk around to different areas of your home, garage and backyard. Find the coolest, warmest and dampest places. This will depend on the time of year. Basements are often damp and cool, while attics are often warmer than the rest of the house. Look for dry, damp, light and dark areas. See if you can find any evidence of mold growth anywhere.
Place Cheese Slices in Plastic Sandwich Bags
- Gather five slices of cheese and five plastic sandwich bags. Take pictures of the cheese to document the mold growth. Leave a couple of the bags open to see if air exposure has an effect on the mold growth. Set the bags in the different locations you observed earlier. Place one bag in a damp area, one in a dark area and so on.
Create a Progress Chart
- Decide how long you would like your experiment to last. Two weeks is a good amount of time. At the top of the chart write the days of the week. On the side write the location and environment where you placed the cheese slices. Check your cheese slices each day around the same time. Write as many observations as you can about each slice. If you like, you can take pictures of any changes or mold growth.
Go Over Your Findings
- At the end of the two weeks you should have some interesting data. You can examine your data and ask questions such as: How did temperature and environment effect mold growth? Which areas grew the most mold? Did leaving the bag open to air cause the cheese to mold faster?

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