Students rotate through five stations of different species of mushrooms to observe the gills, partial veil, stipe, annulus, and cap. Using a hand lens, the children can focus on the reproductive organs of the fruiting body and apply all the vocabulary. Looking at the mushroom as a heterotrophic organism allows the students to learn about the digestive system that occurs outside the fruiting body. A single strand of chitin hyphae will multiply into a grouping called mycelium. This mycelium oozes enzymes that breaks down food and sucks it up.