Upcoming Events
Fungi: Web of Life in 3D - at the FilmScene
Come see FUNGI: WEB OF LIFE in 3D! This show will be Tuesday March 25 at 7pm, at FilmScene at the Chauncey.
Including a pre-show presentation: Cool Mushrooms Grow in Iowa Too, Silly: Iowa’s Fungal Biodiversity, presented by the Prairie States Mushroom Club.
Oakland Mills Park Foray
Have you ever eaten mushrooms straight from the woods? (Disclaimer: please cook first!) Experienced mushroom hunters from the Prairie States Mushroom Club will show you how to tell the difference between poisonous, edible, and delicious fungi. After foraging, take home your haul and some recipes as well. This event is outside, so dress accordingly. Preregistration greatly appreciated.
Fungarium! Exhibit Presentation and Foray at Swiss Valley Nature Center
Join PSMC board member Art McBreen as he kicks off the 2-month long run of the Fungarium! exhibit at Swiss Valley Nature Center. Art’s presentation on the creation and journey of Fungarium! will be followed by a foray on the center grounds.
Mushroom Foray at Ryerson's Woods
Head out with the Prairie States Mushroom Club to learn about and forage for wild mushrooms.
This event is hosted by Iowa City Parks and Recreation, and is registration only! This event is $15 per person for residents of Iowa City and $20 for non-residents.
Morel Foray at Wickiup Hill
Join us for our annual foray with Linn County Conservation at Wickiup Hill Learning Center! This has historically been our most popular foray and we always find morels, making it a great opportunity for first-time mushroom hunters interested in morels.
Due to its popularity, Linn County does require registration for this event.
Bur Oak Land Trust Teen Event with Iowa City Public Library
Join the Bur Oak Land Trust and Amanda Flaata of the Prairie States Mushroom Club for an awesome presentation on fungi, followed by a spore print demonstration and stamp art!
Muddy Creek Biodiversity Survey
Are you interested in the wonderful biodiversity of mushrooms? Come to Muddy Creek Preserve - a Bur Oak Land Trust property - with the Prairie States Mushroom Club to collect specimens for study and sequencing. We may find edible fungi as well!
This foray is open to current Prairie States Mushroom Club members, with limited registration to non-members. Stay tuned for a registration link!
Coralville Library Foray
Join the Prairie States Mushroom Club and the Coralville Public Library for another mushroom program! We will meet at the Library in the E. Jean Schwab Auditorium for a quick presentation on fungi, and proceed across the street to the Clear Creek Trail to see what interesting fungi we can find!
This event is free and open to all.
Clinton County Foray
Join us at the beautiful Eden Valley Refuge to find late spring/early summer mushrooms, from chanterelles to the Wrinkled Peach mushroom!
This event is open to all and free to attend.
Maquoketa Caves Foray
Jump into the exciting world of fungi with Prairie States Mushroom Club and Jackson County Conservation. A mushroom expert will be guiding participants on a hike through the forest to look for mushrooms big and small. Come explore a world hiding right under our feet! This event is great for all experience levels. No previous mushroom knowledge required! All ages are welcome, but children must be accompanied by an adult.
Introduction to Fungi Presentation
Join us for an engaging exploration of the fascinating world of fungi! This presentation offers a comprehensive introduction to the diverse kingdom of fungi, examining their biology, ecology, and significance in our environment. In collaboration with Iowa City Parks and Recreation.
Mushroom Art at the Robert A. Lee Rec Center
Join the Prairie States Mushroom Club to make some mushroom-themed crafts. This event is hosted by Iowa City Parks and Recreation, and is registration only!
Fungarium! At the Carnegie Museum
Fungarium! opens the first week in September and runs through November. The exhibit features over two dozen specimens, most collected during a single month in Jefferson, Washington and Van Buren counties. The Carnegie Museum is located at 112 S. Court St. in Fairfield, IA. Hours are Tuesdays thru Fridays 12-4 and Saturdays 11-3. Admission is free.
White Pine Hollow State Forest - Advanced Foray
Help us document the different fungi within White Pine Hollow State Forest. The advanced mushroom foray is for those with a good knowledge base in hunting for and identifying fungi. Registration is required!
Wapsi River Environmental Education Center Foray
Join Caleb Musser, Vice President of the Prairie States Mushroom Club, and Dave Murcia, Director of the Wapsi River Center, in an exploration of the grounds looking for fall mushrooms.
Online registration is required. To register, go here: https://iascottctyweb.myvscloud.com/webtrac/web/iteminfo.html?Module=AR&FMID=63890242
Camp Wakonda Foray and Annual Meeting
Unlike most of our events, this one is not open to the general public. To join this foray you must be a PSMC member or affiliated with the boy scouts (but you can become a member at the event for $10). After holding our annual club meeting (~30m) we will explore the reservation grounds looking for fall mushrooms!
Wings & Wild Things Festival
Celebrate Iowa’s natural world with this new hands-on festival showcasing the wild and wonderful flora and fauna of our region, as well as outdoor recreation activities. Grab food from local food trucks and enjoy a day spent exploring Johnson County’s Kent Park.
Get Outside! Iowa
The Prairie States Mushroom Club will have a table at the Get Outside! festival in Iowa City. We’ll be on a mission to find every fungus in City Park! Stop by to say hello and help us look for fungi.
Explore Arboretum Fungi with a Fun Guy
Event host Jeff Patch chairs PSMC's foray committee. Patch, also a Dubuque Arboretum & Botanical Gardens volunteer, plans educational opportunities such as this for Iowans to learn more about mushrooms and how to forage while avoiding toxic fungi.
Wolter Woods & Prairie - Advanced Foray
Help us document the different fungi within the UD Wolter Woods & Prairie. This advanced mushroom foray is for those with a good knowledge base in hunting for and identifying fungi. Registration is required!
Palisades-Kepler Foray
Discover the wonder world of fungi at Palisades-Kepler State Park! The Prairie States Mushroom Club and Friends of Palisades-Kepler will lead participants through the park in search of interesting and edible fall mushrooms, such as chicken of the woods and puffballs.
EVENT OPEN: Fungarium! At the Carnegie Museum
Fungarium! opens the first week in September and runs through November. The exhibit features over two dozen specimens, most collected during a single month in Jefferson, Washington and Van Buren counties. The Carnegie Museum is located at 112 S. Court St. in Fairfield, IA. Hours are Tuesdays thru Fridays 12-4 and Saturdays 11-3. Admission is free.
Scott County Park Foray
Join Caleb and Jeff at Scott County Park for a fruitful fungi foray! Meet at the Buffalo Bill Shelter.
Mini Bioblitz Mushroom Foray
Help Bur Oak Land Trust record mushrooms for the first time at Corriell Nature Preserve and contribute to the Prairie States Mushroom Club sequencing project.
UD Wolter Woods & Prairies Mycoblitz
We’re thrilled to announce the Summer Continental Mycoblitz happening this Tuesday, August 13th, from 10 am to 12 pm at UD Wolter Woods and Prairies!
Swiss Valley Preserve Foray
Join Ross Salinas and the Prairie States Mushroom Club for a foray at beautiful Swiss Valley Nature Preserve, hosted by Dubuque County Conservation. The event is free but registration is required.
Cedar Rapids Public Library Mushroom Foray
Do you have mush love for fungi? This beginner guide to mushroom hunting will connect you with other trusted experts in foraging.
Coralville Public Library Foray
Join us in a mushroom foray with Sarah DeLong-Duhon from the Prairie States Mushroom Club. There will be a short lecture at the Library followed by a walk along Clear Creek Trail in search of edible and interesting mushrooms.
This event is free and hosted by the Coralville Public Library. No registration is required. The presentation will be held in Meeting Room A.
Micro-Fungi Foray at Palisades
We will meet up at Palisades-Kepler State Park and look for teeny tiny fungi! You'd be surprised how many cute mushrooms you walk past every day, we will show you how to slow down and look. Having a way to take macro photos is advised, but not required.
Kids Foray at Hickory Hill Park
Join us for a Father’s Day fungi fest at Hickory Hill Park, and bring your tykes! This will be a kids-focused mushroom hunt, beginning with mushroom storytime and ending with a look at some fancy tech (mushrooms under a microscope)! Be prepared to trek into the woods and bring home some fungal souvenirs.
Brinton Timbers Foray
Join the Prairie States Mushroom Club for a foray at Brinton Timbers on June 15, 10am-12pm.
Presentation at Center Point Historical Society
A presentation on Iowa fungi by Glen Schwartz.
Micro-Fungi Foray at Pinicon Ridge
Come with us to explore the magical world of tiny things often missed! We will focus on finding and photographing the tiniest fungi we can, but we will find bugs and slime molds along the way. Having a way to take macro photos is advised, but not required.
Foray with Des Moines Botanical Garden
We’re going on a mushroom walk! Join Botanical Garden staff and mushroom experts from the Prairie State Mushroom Club on a leisurely stroll through Brown’s Woods Forest Preserve, located near Valley Junction. Throughout the hike we will identify mushrooms and plants that we discover. Registration is required.
Mushroom Ramble
This is our annual Morel foray in association with the Linn County Conservation. This foray is specifically designed for those that have never found a morel before, however, more experienced hunters are still encouraged to attend. We will have a brief meeting before the foray to show everybody what we are looking for. Most years we are able to find some morels but we could be too early or too late. It all depends on the weather. Dress for conditions and expect to be off trail.
For more information about this park: https://www.mycountyparks.com/county/linn/park/wickiup-hill-learning-center.aspx
Macbride Nature Challenge
Join us at the Macbride Nature Challenge! Make sure to register here: https://uiowa.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_djtHglSr2gOblOK
Even if you can’t make it, you can still participate in the City Nature Challenge from April 26-29, more info here: https://sustainability.uiowa.edu/city-nature-challenge
Mushrooming with BOW
This year we are leading mushroom foraging sessions for BoW at Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca! Registration for Becoming an Outdoors Woman opens up in January! https://www.iowadnr.gov/Things-to-Do/Camps-Workshops/Becoming-an-Outdoors-Woman. Make sure to sign up early for this event.
Foray at Draco Hill Nature Farm
Join Prairie States Mushroom Club and fellow fungi enthusiasts for a foray at Draco Hill Nature Farm in Cedar County.
Foray at McFarland Park
Join Prairie States Mushroom Club and fellow fungi enthusiasts for a foray at McFarland Park in Ames.
Foray at Wildcat Den State Park
Join Prairie States Mushroom Club and fellow fungi enthusiasts for a foray at Wildcat Den State Park in Muscatine Sun., March 10 at 10 a.m.