Blob Lab Kit

🏆 Our best-seller. The most complete — and most supported — set. The Blob Lab Kit includes 2 strains and eight experiments, including three exclusives: the maze, the strain race, and the Tokyo network. Each comes with a step-by-step guide. Free delivery within France.

What's in the box

• ×4 dormant sclerotia — 2 Major Tom + 2 Australian, to observe and compare both strains in parallel, and to pit them against each other in the race
• ×19 sterile Petri dishes, one size for every use: 8 × 60 mm (revival and subculturing) · 10 × 90 mm (the seven common experiments, with 3 spares) · 1 × 120 mm square (the Tokyo network)
• ×15 doses of laboratory-grade agar — 1 dose = 2 x 90 mm dishes (or 3 x 60 mm dishes), to be diluted in 55 mL of boiling water and poured to a depth of 4 mm. That's more than double what your 19 dishes require.
• ×30 g organic rolled oats
• ×1 maze — exclusive to the Lab
• ×1 Tokyo experiment module — exclusive to the Lab
• ×1 strain race maze — exclusive to the Lab
• ×1 U-trap
• ×2 bottles of food coloring — 1 blue (E133) + 1 red (E122)
• ×11 precision tools: precision tweezers, small spatula, large spatula, pipette (for dosing the coloring), and ×7 cookie cutters Ø 1.8 cm
• ×8 filter papers Ø 90 mm — to re-sclerotize your blobs when you want to put them on pause
• ×1 set of printed protocol cards — revival, maintenance, and the 8 experiments step-by-step
• ×1 sticker sheet

Your eight included experiments

1. The Choice

Two food sources, same distance: which one does the blob reach first? The simplest experiment to start, and the first time you see your blob choose, you won't forget it.

2. The U-trap

The food is placed behind a U-shaped obstacle. The blob leaves a chemical trail as it moves, which helps it avoid passing through the same place twice — and to find its way out of the trap. Smith-Ferguson, J., Reid, C.R., Latty, T., Beekman, M. (2017), Journal of Physics D.

3. Colored Diffusion

A micro-drop of blue coloring on one side, red on the other, and the cytoplasmic flow becomes visible in the veins — the two colors cross and sometimes meet in the same vein. The most spectacular experiment to photograph.

4. The Optimal Network

Several oat flakes placed in a pattern (triangle, star, etc.) on the agar. The blob connects the sources via an efficient network — not the shortest possible, but a compromise between total length and robustness. This is the principle that made Physarum famous. Nakagaki, T., Iima, M. et al. (2007), Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

5. The Bridge

How does the blob react if its food is separated by a gap?

6. The Maze — exclusive to the Lab

The founding experiment: placed in a labyrinth with food at both ends, the blob retracts from dead ends and retains only an efficient path. Nakagaki, T., Yamada, H., Tóth, Á. (2000), Nature, 407, 470.

7. The Strain Race — exclusive to the Lab

Two entrances, the same maze, two strains starting at the same time: a Major Tom and an Australian. Each seeks its own route to the center — the first to arrive wins the race. You observe two different exploration strategies live on the same agar. Adapted from the Nakagaki maze protocol (Nature, 2000), with 2 entrances instead of 1.

8. The Tokyo Network — exclusive to the Lab

Oat flakes arranged like the cities around Tokyo. In 26 hours, the blob builds a network with an efficiency comparable to the region's actual rail network. Tero, A. et al. (2010), Science, 327(5964), 439-442.

Why 19 dishes

The count is not arbitrary — it's one format per use:

• 8 × 60 mm — revival and subculturing, the action that keeps a blob alive throughout the journey
• 10 × 90 mm — the seven common experiments (choice, U-trap, colored diffusion, optimal network, bridge, maze, and strain race), plus three spares in case one doesn't work out
• 1 × 120 mm square — the Tokyo network, which requires a square support

And with your 15 doses of agar, you have more than double what these 19 dishes require: enough to repour everything.

The 2 strains included in this kit

No choice to make — the Lab includes both, with two sclerotia of each. Enough to revive them in parallel, compare them, and above all pit them against each other in the strain race — experiment 7, which doesn't exist in any other BlobFarm kit.

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

Who is this kit for?

It's the most complete kit, and it's also the most guided — every experiment has its own step-by-step card. It's not reserved for experts: it's the one where you are the most supported.

• Children aged 7 and up accompanied by an adult, 10 and up independently
• Families who want a real project to carry out together over several weeks
• Teachers and extracurricular activity leaders
• Curious minds who want to reproduce experiments published in Nature and Science
• Science content creators

Our guarantees

• ✓ 100% revival 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 cooling-off period according to our T&Cs
• ✓ Harmless — Physarum polycephalum is not associated with any human infection in scientific literature and does not appear on any European regulatory list of biological risk agents. No allergens or toxicity are known to date.
• ✓ Free delivery within France — the only kit that meets the threshold on its own

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference from other kits?

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

What if my blob doesn't wake up?

The kit contains 4 sclerotia (2 Major Tom + 2 Australian), specifically so you don't miss your revival. If all four fail, we will send you a replacement sclerotium for free. Complete troubleshooting guide.

At what age can you adopt a blob?

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

Are the dyes dangerous?

No. They are laboratory-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 the food. Keep out of reach of very young children; washable with water.

Do the experiments really work?

Four of them use protocols published in peer-reviewed journals — the maze (Nakagaki, Nature, 2000), the optimal network (Nakagaki, Iima et al., PRSB, 2007), the Tokyo network (Tero et al., Science, 2010), and the U-trap (Smith-Ferguson et al., 2017). The other four — choice, bridge, colored diffusion, and strain race — are observational experiments designed by BlobFarm based on documented behaviors of Physarum.

What if an experiment doesn't work?

The kit is designed for this: you have 3 x 90 mm dishes left after the seven 90 mm experiments, plus 2 extra 60 mm dishes for your subcultures. The cards include a troubleshooting section. If nothing works, write to hello@blobfarm.com.

Going further

• How to revive a blob sclerotium in 48h, step by step
• USB Microscope Pro 200×
• Shelf Experiments Collection

The kit to do it all.