Notes from the Underground @ Heron Arts
About the event
Mushrooms feed us, heal us, and sometimes poison us — yet we are only beginning to understand their vast capacities and what they may mean for our future. Fungi may become living building materials, clean energy sources, medicines, even biological computing memory. NASA scientists Dr. Jessica Snyder and Dr. Lynn Rothschild are already experimenting with growing fungal habitats on the Moon and Mars. Some species of fungi communicate through electrical pulses, some even with their own dialects. These mycelial rhythms could contain messages from the underground about our future.
The Evening
Hosted at Heron Arts in SOMA, the night unfolds as an immersive, sensory experience.
The exhibiting artists Britt Henze and Joshua Rampage will introduce their work and remain available for conversation throughout the evening.
Guests are welcomed with small bites featuring native white truffles found in Marin County by Maria Finn’s truffle dog, Flora Jayne. Guests will be invited to smell fresh truffles and view an augmented-reality video will show her dog truffle hunting in the forest; it’s a narrated meditation on scent and desire.
Koji-shio marinated mushroom skewers will cook on a robotic grill built by artist Kal Spelletich, who will also be present to ensure it remains benevolent.
Drinks
Feral Ecology will pour wild and foraged wines and hard cider fermented with mushrooms and bay laurel leaves.
Non Alcoholic mushroom and herbal based beverages by Ceylon
Wine & Beer
Sound + Living Systems
Artist Scott Kildall (BioSymphonic) will present his work that translates biological signals into sound. Using sensors attached to mycelium, he translates its electrical activity and it into generative music. Guests can listen to this “mushroom music” while enjoying the main course: mushroom risotto and seasonal salad.
Mushrooms in Space — Science Talks
Dr. Jessica Snyder — NASA Ames Research Center
An engineer and bioprinting pioneer, Snyder studies how living systems behave beyond Earth. Her work explores how fungi could support human life in space — producing medicines on demand, recycling waste, and helping create closed ecological systems for long-term habitation.
Dr. Lynn Rothschild — NASA Ames Astrobiology & Synthetic Biology
Rothschild’s lab is developing fungal biocomposites — living materials that can grow, self-repair, and form protective structures. This “mycotecture” could allow astronauts to build habitats on the Moon and Mars using biology instead of transported materials — technologies that may also reshape sustainable construction here on Earth.
Dessert
Evening concludes
Menu
Grilled shio-koji King Trumpet mushroom and artichoke skewers (GF, Vegan)
Pão de queijo with native Oregon white truffle butter (GF, VG)
Salad: Wild and local Star Route farms mixed greens with shaved fennel & purple daikon radish, slivered kumquats and pickled mushroom in an orange-preserved lemon—tahini vinaigrette. (GF, Vegan)
KM Mushrooms & stinging nettle, miso risotto (GF, Vegan)
Candy Cap cookies, Oregon Black Truffle panna cotta & fresh fruit