Tree Fall by Marcia Milner-Brage (on loan for the museum display!)

Clubs, Conks, Collections & More From Iowa’s Booming Mushroom Community

Fungarium! opens the first week in September and runs through November. 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.

From Fairfield’s Toadstool Club of the 1920s to today’s Prairie States Mushroom Club, Iowa’s fungal fascination has never been bigger. Fungarium! is intended as a sampler of this immense meeting ground where history, science, art and nature intersect, a reflection of the Wood Wide Web that connects trees and underground fungal networks. 

The exhibit features over two dozen specimens, most collected during a single month in Jefferson, Washington and Van Buren counties. Each was then freeze-dried to best preserve color, shape and overall appearance. Artist’s Conks, mushroom-dyed wool, spore prints, calendars, photos and kids’ coloring pages are also part of the display. Posters were generously offered for our use by the North American Mycological Association (NAMA), and display space was made available by the Carnegie Historical Museum.