Mushroom Fun: Turn Pizza Boxes into Pizza - Grades 3-8

What happens when a mushroom eats a pizza box?

In this hands-on science program, students discover the answer — and a whole lot more. Using a stack of pizza boxes, each representing a different stage of decomposition, young scientists explore how fungi break down the world around us and rebuild it. The focus is on observation and inquiry: students are never told what to think. Students are asked what they see, what they wonder, and what they predict.

Every child leaves with a take-home mycelium sample and a seed to plant, carrying the lesson with them long after the boxes are closed.

Children may bring their lunch and have it at 12:30 PM before the program starts or arrive at 1 PM for the start of the program.

Elizabeth Almeida

Instructor

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Elizabeth Almeida is the owner of Fat Moon Mushrooms and a former commercial mushroom grower with ten years of experience supplying James Beard and Michelin-recognized restaurants across New England. She spent a decade growing oyster, shiitake, lion's mane, and specialty varieties at scale, learning the biology of fungi from the inside out. Now she channels that expertise into education — helping home growers, students, and curious adults understand the remarkable science happening right under our feet. Elizabeth believes the best science lessons begin with a question and end with something you can hold in your hands.