Classic Blob Kit

The kit to keep it alive. Four Petri dishes, everything you need to wake up your Physarum polycephalum and then subculture it multiple times on fresh agar for about two months — plus two experiments to get a taste of what the blob can do.

What's in the box

• ×2 dormant sclerotia of the strain of your choice, in a sterile tube — 1 spare, just in case
• ×4 sterile Petri dishes: 2 × 60 mm (waking and subculturing) · 2 × 90 mm (growth and experiments)
• ×3 doses of lab-grade agar — 1 dose = 2 × 90 mm dishes (or 3 × 60 mm dishes), to be diluted in 55 mL of boiling water and poured to a depth of 4 mm
• ×15 g of organic rolled oats
• ×2 bottles of dye — 1 blue (E133) + 1 red (E122)
• ×6 precision tools: precision tweezers, small spatula, large spatula, pipette (for dosing the dye), and ×2 cookie cutters Ø 1.8 cm — one per experiment
• ×4 filter papers Ø 90 mm — to re-sclerotize your blob when you want to put it on pause
• ×3 printed protocol cards — keeping it alive · the choice · the colored diffusion

Your two included experiments

1. The choice

Two foods, same distance from your blob: which one does it reach first? The card tells you what to take from your kitchen and how to place both portions so the comparison is fair. It's the simplest manipulation to start — and the first time you see your blob choose, you don't forget it.

2. The colored diffusion

A micro-drop of dye, blue on one side, red on the other, and the blob's network of veins becomes visible: you can see the cytoplasm flowing back and forth inside, the two colors crossing and sometimes meeting in the same vein. It is the most spectacular experiment to photograph. Both bottles and the pipette are in the box.

Want to go further? The Discovery Blob Kit steps up to 4 experiments with the U-trap and the optimal network; the Blob Lab Kit goes up to 8 and adds the labyrinth, the strain race, and the Tokyo network.

Why four dishes

A blob does not die of old age: it dies when its agar runs out. The solution is called subculturing — you take a piece and place it on a fresh dish. The Solo Blob Kit, with its two dishes, allows you to do this once. Here you have four, and enough to pour them twice — that's eight dishes in total, enough to keep subculturing for about two months.

The 60 mm dishes are for starting and subculturing, the 90 mm ones for letting it spread and conducting experiments — one per manipulation.

Choose your blob strain

• Major Tom — Our hero strain: the Physarum polycephalum sent to the International Space Station by the CNES with Thomas Pesquet (2021). Bright yellow, vigorous network. Perfect for beginners.
• Australian Physarum polycephalum — An isolate of the same species, from the other hemisphere. Just as fascinating.

Same price, your choice — the strain does not change the price.

Who is this kit for?

• Children ages 7 and up, as a birthday or Christmas gift
• Families who want a science project to share over several weeks
• Curious minds who have already woken up a blob and want to keep it alive
• Teens and adults who prefer raising rather than experimenting
• Biology students

Our guarantees

• ✓ 100% wake-up guaranteed — if nothing happens after 7 days using the protocol, we will send you a replacement sclerotium for free.
• ✓ Shipping within 24 business hours
• ✓ Cultivated in France
• ✓ 14-day return policy according to the Terms of Service
• ✓ Harmless — Physarum polycephalum is not associated with any human infection in scientific literature and does not appear on any European regulatory list of hazardous biological agents. No allergens or toxicity are known to date.
• ✓ Enough to subculture for about two months

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference from other kits?

Everything is counted in experiments: the Solo 0 (2 dishes) · the Classic Blob Kit 2 (4 dishes, dyes) · the Discovery 4 (9 dishes, + U-trap and optimal network) · the Lab 8 (19 dishes, + labyrinth, strain race, and Tokyo network, free shipping within France).

What if my blob doesn't wake up?

The box contains one spare sclerotium, specifically for this purpose. If both fail, we will send you a replacement sclerotium for free. Full troubleshooting guide.

From what age can one adopt a blob?

From age 7 accompanied by an adult, age 10 independently. There are no sharp objects in the kit.

Are the dyes dangerous?

No. These are lab-grade dyes — a blue E133 and a red E122 — used as visual markers to trace the blob's cytoplasmic flow. ⚠️ They are not intended for consumption: you place a micro-drop on the blob as part of the experiment, not on food. Keep out of reach of very young children; washable with water.

Is extra equipment needed at home?

Just a second food item taken from your kitchen for the choice experiment — the card tells you which ones work. Everything else is in the box.

How long does the kit last?

Its 3 agar doses cover more than two complete refills of its 4 dishes. With one subculture every 10 days, that's about two months. Afterwards, an agar refill for €3 gives you enough to pour more than 20 × 90 mm dishes — the dishes themselves can be washed and reused.

To go further

• How to wake up a sclerotium in 48 hours, step by step
• The complete life cycle of the Physarum
• Agar refill and organic oats

The kit to keep it alive.