Biomimicry Teaching

Teaching design through nature inspired innovation

 

  • Challenge

    The world is facing an epic challenge around the environment from climate change to sustainable energy. Not only are kids going to face the consequences, they can also help solve these problems. One approach is building sustainable products using innovations inspired by nature.

  • Approach

    Provide teachers and students with opportunities to learn about and implement biomimicry inspired products through teacher professional development, project-based learning curriculum and student events.

  • Results

    Developed a compelling mantra around the power of biomimicry and education, created several project-based learning units including a flagship project on a Mars spacesuit, and led dozens of teacher workshop and a few student biomimicry design events.

Bullet Train story

This is a bit of a long passage but bare with me as the story is incredible…when the first iteration of the Shinkansen or Bullet Train was built there was a big problem. As the train traveled close to 200 MPH it created a super sonic boom when the train entered and left tunnels, in some cases shattering the window’s of nearby homes. The reason why is the first design had a nose that was more traditional, a blunt rounded nose. As a result, a large body of air would collect on the nose and when it hit the colder, denser tunnel air a massive force was created that exploded the air out of the tunnel creating the sonic boom. To solve this problem, one of the train designers looked to nature for inspiration. He was an avid fisher and he thought how the Kingfisher bird is able to travel high speeds and pierce the water with minimal splash. So he worked with the engineering team to redesign the blunt nose based on this bird design pattern. The design solve the tunnel problem and created an added benefit of increasing the energy efficiency. It’s an incredible example of how nature’s 3.6 billion years of lessons can teach us to build better, more sustainable products.

 

Biomimicry in action

This is an oldie but a goodie. It is a TED talk from Janine Beynus, considered the founder of the biomimicry movement. It captures several case studies. A remarkable sequence of stories that illustrates the amazing potential of biomimicry.

 
 

Hook and Loop challenge

This hands-on project teaches the fundamentals of biomimicry and provides a hands-on way to engage in biomimicry design in less than 45 minutes with simple craft materials.

 

The first part of the project is learning about biomimicry. How form and function in nature can inspire new designs such as the hooked structures in burr’s that informed the design of Velcro.

 
 

The second part is the Hook & Loop challenge where students or teachers used simple crafts to mimic the designs of the burr and then engaged in a fun, hands-on activity to pick up as many targets as they could in a timed, team relay race.

 
 
 

Mars Biosuit project

This project combines earth and space concepts with biomimicry and product development. It provides a single or multi day project to dive into biomimicry design and aligns to science standards. It can also be used in design challenges with large audiences. For example, I ran this project with 100+ kids in an auditorium.

 
 

1. Mars 101

The first part of the project is learning about past and current space missions to Mars as well as conditions on Mars, particularly the weather and topography, which helps them emphasize with astronaut needs. This connects to Earth & Space science NGSS standards.

 

2. Spacesuit design

The second part is learning about spacesuit design. Students learn about this history of spacesuits from whacky fishbowl concepts to futuristic designs like the biosuit concept out of MIT. The features and functions of each part if covered and critical needs for astronauts such as movement, food, communication and breathing. This content aligns to NGSS standards for understanding technologies and systems in Engineering & Technology group.

 
 
 

3. Plant Adaptations

The third part is learning about plant adaptations such as stoma to release gas, lotus effect to bead water, or wind to disperse seeds. This content provides a strong connection to science standards, particularly Structure & Function, Adaptations of Living Things, and Living Things & Their Environment from NGSS.

 
 

4. Spacesuit Product Brief

The fourth part is when the students generate spacesuit concepts inspired by their research on Mars, spacesuits, and plant adaptations. The student creates an illustration (2D sketch, 3D model, etc.) and labels key structure and function requirements.

 
 

5. Industry Role Artifact

The final part is taking on an industry role that would be responsible for bringing the spacesuit to market. It could be a digital marketer who creates graphics or animations. Or it could be an entrepreneur who things about a funding proposal. Other roles can include journalist, artist, anthropologist etc. which all provide real world connections and a means to dive into a certain disciplines such as ELA and the journalist role.

 

Teacher Workshops

 

Biomimicry Training

In teacher workshops, attendees can learn about the history of biomimicry, industry case studies, online resources, and effective pedagogies to connect student learning to this design based learning approach.

Project-based Learning

Biomimicry is a great way to bring PBL to life. The thesis is to design things based on inspiration from nature. Students inquire about the structure and function of living things. Choose the type of designs they want to create. Engage in authentic activities that connects to technology and industry. An outcome are concepts, prototypes, and ideas that can be shared in the community.

Curriculum Standards

Biomimicry has strong connections to biology and engineering standards. At the same time, you can also connect to other science standards such as physics and earth sciences. On top of this, artifacts like reflective journals, media arts, and business plans connect to other disciplines.

 

Artifacts created:

 

  • Case studies

  • Online resource list

  • Hook & Loop Challenge

  • Mars Biosuit Project

  • Student Design Challenges

  • Teacher Workshops