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Hi,
I teach environmental sci and I wanted my students to explore some concepts of biomimicry. I'm asking them to think about the world around them, specifically in new products that have been developed (form & function), and consider how biological functions and strategies have been used as models for design and innovation. I introduce information regarding seed dispersal strategies employed by trees (such as an oak, etc.) and have them consider how birds and squirrels cache more acorns than they actually need and actually never recover but a fraction of what they hid! However, this technique allows the trees distribute their seeds beyond their reach, etc....Then I ask them to consider how Business has distributed iPads, iPods, etc.
It's kind of a different twist on their thinking and hopefully allows them to see if they plan on a different career path, that science (biology) is a model for very efficient productivity and sales!
My predicament is I would like to do some sort of activity in class to make it more 'hands-on'. Anyone have any creative ideas???
Thanks for any help!
Kathy
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Wow, Kathy! Your idea is *awesome*. I actually never knew that squirrels didn't recover the majority of acorns cached. There's a passage in Ishmael (Daniel Quinn) that discusses planes and our desire to mimic bird flight, but in our mimicry, we failed in many early attempts. Maybe have students look at the evolution of the airplane and see how this mimicry lead us to design a piece of technology that allows us to fly but at a much greater energy need than the birds? I'm stretching here, but maybe this provides you with a better idea! I'd love to hear what you eventually present to your students.
Cheers!
Kathryn
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Hi Kathryn,
Thanks so much for the idea. I hadn't thought about the plane...but, of course!!! :-) I'm trying to figure out some kind of in-class activity. I'm not very creative and I've read so many great ideas and activities by such creative people on the community forum, I thought I'd throw it out there!
Thanks again for plane info.
Kathy
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Hi there! How great that I found your post-- I was coming to the forums to publicize a creative hands-on learning opportunity in biomimicry for K-12!
The Biomimicry Institute is announcing the 2011-2012 Biomimicry Youth Challenge, a creative design competition for students in grades K-12. Three levels for submission allow all ages to explore biomimicry in a project-based, hands-on structure that supports STEM goals, and gets children outside thinking about nature.
Visit our website for more information or to register-- registration is open through February 1 2012 and submissions are due April 1, 2012.
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Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery - and humans have been imitating the natural world for thousands of years. Engineers continue to imitate nature in ways to many to imagine.
Thank you for letting us know about the Challenge - great that we have alternatives that allow us to get at least some students to really immerse in creative endeavors.
I recently found this lesson as I was putting together a lesson about biomimicry for an alternative high school. It brings the engineering process and nature together in an activity that has students use nature to solve real-world problems, followed by a class presentation. It is adaptable for a wide range of ages, and should be a lot of fun. We only did a small segment of the lesson; I wish I had time for more!
Biomimicry Collection
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Thanks for posting that lesson plan! Really cool!
I'd love to hear your thoughts about a way to make biomimicry lessons more "do-able" for teachers-- I have an idea about developing a 16-week once-a-week hands-on biomimicry curriculum (like 20-30 minutes per time) culminating in students participating in the Challenge.
-Grace
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Hi there-
Now that the holidays are behind us, I wanted to remind teachers interested in Biomimicry about the opportunity to participate in the Biomimicry Youth Design Challenge this year. Registration is open until Feb 1.
I'm attaching the complete descriptions of the contest process and rules-- please feel free to get in touch if I can help, or visit our website to learn more about the Challenge and about biomimicry!
Grace Decker
graced (at) biomimicrygroup.com
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