Biomimicry

Using this Super Inventions story and Word Bones activity, students define the following design/invention words: copy, original, concept, similar, explain, discovery, mimic, inspire, create.

After reviewing examples of biomimicry, students create a story about an imaginary invention inspired by an animal’s natural adaptation.

In response to the question, “How can nature provide ways to solve human problems?”, research three examples of biomimicry and fill in a chart for each one, listing Organism, Trait, Function, Biological Strategy, and Human Design Application. 

Then complete this sentence for each example:
_____________ [is/could be] a biological model for the design of ______________.

Using the activity Velcro Race Game, measure and compare the performance time differences of Velcro and other fasteners.

After discussing the way that one boy's study into tree branching led him to invent a solar array using the Fibonacci formula (common in nature), generate and extend the Fibonacci Sequence pattern.

After engineers redesigned the Japanese bullet train to mimic the shape of a kingfisher’s beak, the train traveled 10% faster and used 15% less electricity. Using this data, calculate how fast the train traveled and how much electricity it used after the redesign.

Sunlight warms Earth’s surface. Examples of structures could include umbrellas, canopies, and tents that minimize the warming effect of the Sun on Earth’s surface.

Plants and animals can change their environment; for example, a squirrel digging in the ground to hide its food.

In developing possible solutions, designs can be conveyed through sketches, drawings, or physical models. These representations are useful in communicating ideas for a problem’s solutions to other people.

All organisms have external parts. Different animals use their body parts in different ways to see, hear, grasp objects, protect themselves, move from place to place, and seek, find and take in food, water and air. Animals have body parts that capture and convey different kinds of information needed for growth and survival, and they respond to these inputs in ways that help them survive. Plants also respond to some external inputs. Examples of human problems that can be solved by mimicking plants or animal solutions could include: designing clothing or equipment to protect bicyclists by mimicking turtle shells, acorn shells, and animal scales; stabilizing structures by mimicking animal tails and roots on plants; keeping out intruders by mimicking thorns on branches and animal quills; and detecting intruders by mimicking eyes and ears.

Different properties are suited to different purposes. Examples of properties could include strength, flexibility, hardness, texture, and absorbency.

Because there is always more than one possible solution to a problem, it is useful to compare and test designs. Examples of solutions could include different designs of dikes and windbreaks to hold back wind and water, and different designs for using shrubs, grass, roots and trees to hold back the land.

Evidence could include the needs and characteristics of the organisms in the habitat involved.

A variety of natural hazards result from natural processes. Examples of design solutions to weather-related hazards could include barriers to prevent flooding and wind-resistant roofs.

Defining Engineering Problems: Possible solutions to a problem are limited by available materials and resources (constraints). The success of a designed solution is determined by considering the desired features of a solution (criteria). Different proposals for solutions can be compared on the basis of how well each one meets the specified criteria for success or how well each takes the constraints into account.

Structure and Function: Animals have various body systems with specific functions for sustaining life: skeletal, circulatory, respiratory, muscular, digestive, etc. Examples of structures could include thorns, stems, roots, colored petals, heart, stomach, lung, brain, and skin.

Natural hazards such as earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions cannot be eliminated but their impacts can be reduced. When designing solutions to engineering problems, testing a solution involves investigating how well it performs under a range of likely conditions.

The energy released from food was once energy from the Sun that was captured by plants in the chemical process that forms plant matter from air and water.

Organisms are related in food webs in which some animals eat plants for food and other animals eat the animals that eat plants. Some organisms, such as fungi and bacteria, break down dead organisms (both plants and animals) and therefore operate as “decomposers.” Decomposition eventually restores (recycles) some materials back to the soil. Organisms can survive only in environments in which their particular needs are met. A healthy ecosystem is one in which multiple species of different types are each able to meet their needs in a relatively stable web of life.

Human activities in agriculture, industry, and everyday life have effects on the land, vegetation, streams, ocean, air and space. Individuals and communities can often mitigate these effects through innovation and technology.

A solution needs to be tested and then modified on the basis of the test results in order to improve it. Although one design may not perform the best across all tests, identifying the characteristics of the design that performed the best in each test can provide useful information for the redesign process — that is, some of the characteristics may be incorporated into the new design. The iterative process of testing the most promising solutions and modifying what is proposed on the basis of the test results leads to greater refinement and ultimately to an optimal solution.

Energy is spontaneously transferred out of hotter regions or objects and into colder ones. The more precisely a design task’s criteria and constraints can be defined, the more likely it is that the designed solution will be successful. Specification of constraints includes consideration of scientific principles and other relevant knowledge that is likely to limit possible solutions. A solution needs to be tested, and then modified on the basis of the test results in order to improve it. There are systematic processes for evaluating solutions with respect to how well they meet criteria and constraints of a problem. Examples of devices could include an insulated box or a solar cooker.

Changes in biodiversity can influence humans’ resources, such as food, energy, and medicines, as well as ecosystem services that humans rely on—for example, water purification and recycling. There are systematic processes for evaluating solutions with respect to how well they meet the criteria and constraints of a problem.

Adaptation by natural selection acting over generations in one important process by which species change over time in response to changes in environmental conditions. Traits that support successful survival become more common; those that do not become less common.

Human activities can positively and negatively influence the biosphere. Technology and engineering can potentially help us best manage natural resources. Examples of the design process include examining human interactions and designing feasible solutions that promote stewardship