“I appreciated how the interaction design mimicked the subject matter. The use of attention and proximity as variables for the experience was elegant in its simplicity.” —Maria D’Amato

Overview: As part of Purdue University’s Boiler Gold Rush event, an orientation welcoming new undergraduates, students So Young Song and Canwen Wang created the interactive installation Go Grow Glow as a way for freshmen to familiarize themselves with the university’s campus and engage with friends through an interactive art piece that follows the reproductive cycle of mushrooms. Wanting to convey a theme of sustainability as well, Song and Wang chose the visual theme of mushrooms as both a metaphor for community and to educate players on fungi’s integral role in ecosystems and environmentally friendly technology.

The interactive art piece was shown using two different sites on Purdue’s West Lafayette campus on August 17 and 18, 2023 and engaged more than 250 participants over four hours.

A website (gogrowglow.art), a project-specific Instagram account (instagram.com/gogrowglow.art), and promotional merchandise like glow-in-the-dark stickers and custom T-shirts extend Go Grow Glow beyond the installation.

From concept to completion, the project took Song, Wang and Professor Fabian Winkler six months.

Comments by So Young Song, Canwen Wang and Fabian Winkler: 
What would you say are the core design features behind Go Grow Glow? “The core feature of our project is that the interactive system functions like a game,” says So Young Song. “Typically, mushrooms disperse spores by the wind or insects. In this project, the participants play the role of insects, and Purdue’s campus acts as a big playground. After receiving spores, students explore the campus to find another tree to disperse their spores, and this process ultimately helps them become acquainted with the grounds.

“To engage the interest of the broader community beyond the school, we created and distributed mushroom stickers that glow in the dark,” she continues. “Additionally, the mushroom sticker includes the website and Instagram addresses, aiming to raise awareness of sustainability issues beyond the confines of the campus.”

How does Go Grow Glow work? “We used a MaxBotix MB7383-100 ultrasonic sensor, optimized to detect people in outdoor settings, and placed it close to the target trees to measure the distance of visitors to the projections,” says Fabian Winkler. “The sensor outputs its measurements as serial data and sends this to a host computer located close to the projector. The computer runs a custom software programmed in Processing (processing.org) that controls the animation of the virtual mushroom growth in relation to the ultrasonic sensor’s measurements.”

What was the response like? “Participants’ engagement sparked critical and meaningful discussions, with questions like: ‘How might mushrooms be utilized sustainably in the next decade?’” says Canwen Wang. “This experience led some visitors to contemplate practical methods for mushroom conservation, enhancing their awareness of the impact fungi has on the ecosystem. Additionally, through their active participation, they gained a broader understanding of endangered mushroom species and sustainability concepts.”