Exploratorium @ Pier 15, SF
After Dark: Wondrous Fungus
Come visit the Exploratorium for an After Dark evening
18+.
MSSF will be helping collect mushrooms and have a table.
Explore the incredibly diverse world of fungi, from mushrooms to mold and beyond. What makes a death cap so deadly, and what exactly is in those giant puffballs? Dive into the scientific and cultural significance of fungi, examine a wealth of freshly foraged local mushrooms, and learn about nature’s bounty right in your backyard.
Club Fungi
With Wayne Grim
7:00-9:30 p.m.
Gallery 1 Black Box
Experience live music made from fungi. Biofeedback data from these living organisms is converted into an ever-evolving immersive soundscape. Got your own fungi? Bring it in and hear the sounds it creates.
Mushroom Menagerie
With Bay Area Applied Mycology
6:30–9:30 p.m.
Gallery 3
Damp coastal climates produce an astounding quantity and variety of mushrooms. Come see a bounty on display from recent fungal forays and talk to experts about the best field practices, what mushrooms you can find where, and learn about taxonomy. Samples provided by volunteers from Bay Area Applied Mycology, the Mycology Society of San Francisco, and the UC Berkeley Mycology Club.
BAAM is a nonprofit organization using scientific research and fungi to solve environmental problems, build community, and support sustainability across many different fields.
Mushrooms Under the Microscope
With SF Microscopical Society
6:30–9:30 p.m.
Gallery 4
Get a close look at the beautiful patterns hidden inside mushroom samples! Guided by volunteers from the SF Microscopical Society, you can observe the inner beauty of mushrooms and their spores using several different types of microscopes.
Founded in 1870, the SF Microscopical Society is a community of aspirational, amateur, and professional microscopists in the Bay Area.
Kombucha Couture
With Sacha Laurin
6:30-8:00 pm
Gallery 1
Fashion gets fermented with designer Sacha Laurin of Kombucha Couture, who will show off garments grown from SCOBYs–those symbiotic cultures of bacteria and yeast that usually live in your kombucha jar. These pieces have been featured at the Paris Fashion Show and encourage us to think about sustainability, design, and novel materials.
Sacha Laurin is an Australian-born designer and head cheesemaker whose lifelong fascination with fermentation spans cheese caves, kombucha jars, and the fashion runway.
Myco-materials: Bricks and Beyond
With Christina Cogdell, PhD
6:30-9:30 pm
Gallery 1
Mushroom mycelium has something to teach us about sustainable design. Dr. Christina Cogdell will demonstrate how, from mycobricks made with mycelium and agricultural waste to biofabricated mycoleather and other mushroom-based materials that rethink how we build and clothe ourselves. Pick up a brick and learn about how these materials are manufactured.
Dr. Christina Cogdell is a professor of Design at the University of California, Davis, whose work bridges biodesign, architecture, and living materials. She is a cofounder of Mykos.
Back to School: Fungi Facts
With the UC Berkeley Mycology Club
6:30-9:30 pm
Gallery 3
Join the UC Berkeley Mycology Club for an exploration of fungi and fungal science! Learn to navigate a dichotomous key like a true spore sleuth, view identification manuals, and chat with passionate students about the latest research into fungi happening at UC Berkeley.
The UC Berkeley Mycology Club aims to create a space for students to hone their mycological and biological skills and enjoy mushroom-related fields such as taxonomy, identification, and foraging.
Get tickets at:
https://www.exploratorium.edu/tickets
| 3/5/2026 |    |