The Secret Life of Ferns is an interactive experience that celebrates one of the most beautiful features of the CIID Costa Rica campus: the hanging ferns. Ferns are the most ancient plants on Earth and that’s another reason why they need to be celebrated.

The ferns at CIID hang above our heads in the outdoor, multifunctional space (this is the space we use to have breakfast, to work outdoors, to chill on Fridays…) and they’re always moving with the wind. They wrap us all around and give us a sense of protection and at the same time, they bring the greenery of the garden to the inside.

The brief was to build an interactive experience of celebration. The Secret Life of Ferns explores ritual as a kind of celebration. The interaction was paying homage to one specific hanging fern, showing our gratitude to these amazing beings with a shrine and an experience.

The experience has two main interactions featuring two circuits: the first circuit is completed when a rock is placed to light up some green LEDs. This first circuit works with alternate current. The second circuit is completed when a person, with their bare feet, experiences the space underneath the fern. This makes the fern wiggle by activating a series of motors connected to direct current.

In this case, the person completes the circuit with their bodies by being barefoot, which activated the motors, showing how our own bodies can serve as excellent conductors of electricity. As a metaphor, the fern wiggles to show us its response to the ritual we designed for it.