Description
Serene Shrooms is a colony of eight interactive mushroom sculptures that create an immersive sound bath experience. Each unique pliant polyurethane foam sculpture (3-7 feet tall) plays a continuous low-frequency drone note, together forming meditative chord structures. Touch-sensitive mushroom caps respond to touch with sophisticated sound envelopes, quick taps trigger percussive bursts while sustained touches layer complementary tones that fade gradually when released.
Illuminated "mycelium" connections link neighboring mushrooms, passing touch signals along the network in visible light animations. When multiple visitors collaborate to touch several mushrooms simultaneously, the colony exhibits emergent behaviors impossible to trigger alone. Over 20,000 attendees at Cleveland's Ingenuity Fest September 2025 had an opportunity to engage with the installation, demonstrating broad appeal and reliable operation.
Gallery
Videos
Technical Details
- Dimensions: Colony of eight mushrooms 30x50x7 foot space
- Materials: Pliant Polyurethane Foam
- Interactivity: Touch
- Technology: ESP-32-S3, MusicMaker, Lidar sensor array, Addressable LED pebble and strip lighting. custom C++ code
- Fabrication Time: 18 months
- Budget: Materials: $5000, Labor: Large Labor of Love
Placements
- Ingenuity Fest, Cleveland Ohio - September 2025
Status
Currently Installed Available for Placement
Available for private showings in its current installation.
Taking the very successful debut public showing and building out durable outdoor playground equipment installation designs
for several municiple installations opportunities.
Team
Designer & Lead: Ed Morra
Fabrication: Bob Freeborn
Programming: Ed Morra and Saaman Khalilollahi
Technical Support: The Ingeneers, Makers Alliance, Ingenuity Labs
Special Thanks: Emily Applebaum
Impact & Engagement
Over 20,000 attendees at Cleveland's Ingenuity Fest in September 2025 experienced Serene Shrooms, with visitors spending an average of 10-15 minutes exploring the interactive sound environment. The installation demonstrated remarkable reliability throughout the multi-day festival, with all eight mushrooms operating continuously without technical issues.
Community feedback highlighted the installation's ability to create moments of calm and collaboration in a busy festival environment. Visitors of all ages engaged with the piece, from young children discovering cause-and-effect relationships to adults experiencing meditative group sound creation. The visible mycelium network encouraged social interaction, with strangers working together to discover the colony's hidden behaviors.
The successful debut has generated significant interest from municipal parks departments and cultural institutions seeking durable outdoor interactive installations. The project demonstrates the viability of sophisticated interactive art at festival scale while pointing toward future permanent installations using industrial playground-grade materials.