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You can give young students opportunities to learn about biomimicry in a number of ways: in the classroom and outdoors; through lectures, classroom discussions, inquiries, or self-study – the only necessary ingredient is your intent to inspire! Feel free to use the following curricula to get started, and edit to suit your needs. If you have a curriculum piece on biomimicry you would like to share, we can post it here too.
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Elementary School
This dynamic powerpoint presentation with lecture notes introduces biomimicry through the idea of the built environment, a concept easily understood by fourth graders. Use "normal view" to see the lecture notes below each slide.
This biomimicry poetry exercise was created by highly-acclaimed poet Mario Petrucci as a project with the Poetry Society, UK (www.poetrysociety.org.uk). The exercise is ideal for facilitating thoughtful exploration of biomimicry through language arts for late-elementary and middle school students.
This CD of original music about biomimicry is for young children, K-6. Teacher guides are available on the Ask the Planet website (http://www.AskThePlanetCD.org/) for each song.
Middle School
This week-long unit teaches middle school children about biomimicry through a powerpoint presentation, outdoor exercises, and by giving students the opportunity to explore their own biomimetic solutions to sustainability challenges. Some of the components in this unit can be used independently, for a 1 or 2-day introduction as well.
Using an in-depth case study on climate change, this week-long unit (similar to the unit above) teaches middle school children about biomimicry through a powerpoint presentation, outdoor exercises, and by giving students the opportunity to explore their own biomimetic solutions to sustainability challenges.
This biomimicry poetry exercise was created by highly-acclaimed poet Mario Petrucci as a project with the Poetry Society, UK (www.poetrysociety.org.uk). The exercise is ideal for facilitating thoughtful exploration of biomimicry for late-elementary, middle school, and high school students through language arts.
High School
The biomimicry shelter assignment was prepared by Torrey McMillan and the students in her biomimicry class at The White Mountain School, spring term, 2008. The point of the activity is to help students gain an understanding of biomimetic design processes by choosing a region, a champion species, and having to create a shelter according to those conditions. The assignment, assessment, and a student example are posted here.
The biomimicry poetry exercise was created by highly-acclaimed poet Mario Petrucci as a project with the Poetry Society, UK (www.poetrysociety.org.uk). The exercise is ideal for facilitating thoughtful exploration of biomimicry for late-elementary, middle school, and high school students through language arts.
Students of all ages
These outdoor activity ideas introduce biomimicry to young students of a variety of ages and can be used anywhere from green lawns to wilderness areas.
Evolution can be a difficult concept to teach students, particularly young students, but evolutionary adaptation is one of the main reasons why drawing technological inspiration from Nature makes so much sense, so it is an important concept to understand as a foundation to understanding biomimicry. This action-based indoor lesson plan is designed primarily for elementary and middle school students.
This fun activity can be played with students of all ages to introduce them to biomimicry, while raising interesting questions about the bio-inspired design process.
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