Off-the-shelf experiments
Replicate at home the scientific experiments that made the blob famous. Nakagaki maze, Tokyo network, U-trap, colorful diffusion—all included in the Blob Lab Kit . Why the blob is a star of scie...
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Replicate at home the scientific experiments that made the blob famous. Nakagaki maze, Tokyo network, U-trap, colorful diffusion—all included in the Blob Lab Kit.
Why the blob is a star of scientific labs
Since the 2000s, Physarum polycephalum has become a key model of study. It solves mazes and optimizes networks—without a neuron, without a brain, without a decision-making center.
Available experiments
🧭 Classic Maze (Nakagaki 2000)
Place 2 food sources at the ends of a maze. The blob will find an efficient path. Nature, 407, 470 (2000).
The maze is included in the Blob Lab Kit.
🚦 Tokyo Network (Tero et al., Science, 2010)
In 26 hours, the blob reproduces a network comparable to the rail network of the Tokyo region. Science, 327(5964), 439-442.
The Tokyo module is included in the Blob Lab Kit.
🧠 U-Trap
The blob leaves a chemical trail in its wake and avoids crossing it again—a form of external memory, inscribed in the environment rather than in the cell. Smith-Ferguson, J., Reid, C.R., Latty, T., Beekman, M. (2017). Hansel, Gretel and the slime mould — how an external spatial memory aids navigation in complex environments. Journal of Physics D.
The U-trap is included in the Blob Discovery Kit and the Blob Lab Kit.
🌈 Colorful Diffusion
Visualize cytoplasmic flow in real-time—a drop of blue E133 food coloring on one side, a drop of red E122 food coloring on the other, and the blob's network of veins becomes visible.
👉 BlobFarm Blue + Red Food Coloring
How to successfully conduct a scientific experiment at home
- Stable conditions: between 19 and 25 °C, in the dark, in a closed box
- Fresh sclerotium
- Rigorous documentation
Who are these experiments for?
- Biology students
- Life science teachers
- Science content creators
- Curious minds aged 7 and up with supervision
To go further
- The BlobFarm Blob Lab Kit includes the maze, the Tokyo network, the U-trap, and the food coloring (blue E133 + red E122) — free shipping
- Optics & observation to film your results
- Physarum life cycle
