The slime mold race track: Our initial idea was to create a large race track for the slime molds where two (types) slime molds would need to compete against each other on a race track or an obstacle track. While we originally had planned to use the large incubator

We did not want to create a maze, as this experiment has been done for many times already. Our focus is speed.

The race: For the race we created 7 different experiments. We created 3 different ‘capture the flag’ type experiments, two ‘side by side / start to finish’ experiments, a male/female and one with some electricity on it.

1) "Soccer field" - who reaches the food the first thats in the middle on the agar plate ?

2) "Basketball field" - who reaches the food in the middle first, while the food is raised in the middle on one side

3) "Soccer field with entry doors" - food in the middle can be reached from both sides by going through a small door first

4) Start-to-finish with food at the finish without food on the race track

5) Start-to-finish with on one side a continuous porridge track and on the other side a dotted porridge track

6) Women vs the Men : cultures representing male / female with food in the middle

7) a 12V power source (max 1,2A) with food on the electrodes (slightly raised above the agar as this would conduct the electricity) to power a small LED light. Will the slime mold connect the electrodes and make the light go on ?

Place your bets NOW ! who is going to win , on each battle field. And.... is the light going to go on ?

For the results, check back tuesday night !

Sources: - http://slimoco.ning.com/ - http://www.fralin.vt.edu/sites/fralin.vt.edu/files/Caging%20the%20Blob%20manual.pdf - http://miriam-english.org/files/slime-molds/AmateurScientistslime-mold.html - http://www.buildingthepride.com/faculty/pgdavison/PHYSARUM%20culture%20for%20web.html - http://www.accessexcellence.org/AE/AEC/AEF/1995/skinnermold.php