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Hello, Our organization, the Biomimicry 3.8 Institute, is working on a series of chemistry labs that explore nature's chemistry and the ways organisms manage chemical processes without extreme heat or toxic by-products. I am curious as to whether there is an appetite for this kind of resource, and if so, what the best way(s) to disseminate this material would be? Thank you, Grace

Grace This is an intriguing idea. I teach a class of predominantly per-nursing students and an always looking for biologically relevant chemistry examples.

I was thinking about this today in context of food decay. I thought, this would be a great way to teach chemical reactions because it is very relevant to students.

I am the director of the local regional science fair and I get teachers and students asking me all the time for ideas for science fair projects. Your resource sounds like a good idea as a starting point for science fair projects. I think it would be a great addition to the science resource world.

Excellent Idea Adah. Scholars are so intrigued with Forensics, yet I never push this as a topic for our annual Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S.T.E.M.) Fair. Thanks for the suggestion. LA

I have often thought about this in terms of the chemical breakdown of everyday items from rubber bands to electronics. I live in Hawaii. My school is literally right next to the ocean. Very few rooms have air conditioning, so we live at the outside conditions. The heat, humidity, and salt in the air all contribute to an increase in the chemical breakdown of just about everything. It would be interesting to develop a way to measure the rate of decomposition of selected items in rooms with air conditioning compared to rooms without air conditioning, and even compare these findings to measurements taken in different states.

Grace, You might find this site presenting a HS Green chemistry curriculum informative http://www.beyondbenign.org/K12education/highschool.html I had a look at some of the experiments - I love the blackberry solar cell!