Transcript Biomimicry and the Built Environment

Biomimicry and the
Built Environment
Introduction to
Biomimicry
for Middle School
Where do ideas come from?
Biomimicry
• Bio – life
• Mimicry – to copy or emulate
Biomimicry is learning from nature
how to solve human challenges
and improve our world.
Learning from Nature’s Genius:
A Step-by-Step Guide
1. What do you want your solution to do?
Learning from Nature’s Genius:
A Step-by-Step Guide
1. What do you want your solution to do?
2. Biologize the question.
Learning from Nature’s Genius:
A Step-by-Step Guide
1. What do you want your solution to do?
2. Biologize the question.
3. Find the best natural models.
Learning from Nature’s Genius:
A Step-by-Step Guide
1. What do you want your solution to do?
2. Biologize the question.
3. Find the best natural models.
• think about habitats
Learning from Nature’s Genius:
A Step-by-Step Guide
1. What do you want your solution to do?
2. Biologize the question.
3. Find the best natural models.
• think about habitats
• lots of ways to find information
Learning from Nature’s Genius:
A Step-by-Step Guide
1. What do you want your solution to do?
2. Biologize the question.
3. Find the best natural models.
• think about habitats
• lots of ways to find information
• look for champions
So, what does this mean to YOU?
T-shirt that wicks sweat
like a horned lizard
Vitamins based
on the diet of
forest apes
Fasteners
that stick
like burrs
Underwear that breathe
like stomates of plants
Shoe soles that
grip like a
mountain goat
Clothing colored without dyes like a butterfly or
a peacock
Sandwich bags
that biodegrade
like tethers of
blue mussel
and zip closed
like a feather
Computers as
fast as
neurons
Energy the
way electric
eels or leaves
make it
Systems
interconnected
like trees in a oldgrowth forest
What possibilities can you
imagine?
What creatures will inspire you?
Can YOU look to nature for
inspiration?
Here are Some Ways to Start
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Take a Hike!
Sit quietly outside and OBSERVE
Ask questions in Biology class
Stay in School
Read books about the natural world
Do research on your favorite creature and
all its cool functions, for yourself!
• Go to college and study Biology and Design
Never stop asking Why or How
It’s your future.