We have learned what biomimicry is, what biomimicry isn’t, examples of it, levels, and now it is time to explore it yourself. The remainder of this lesson on biomimicry is focused on how you can apply it. In this section, we introduce some resources for your own research.

Ask Nature

We have seen many examples of biomimicry by this point, but you may be thinking “how am I supposed to know about a kingfisher’s beak or that a gila monster’s saliva has that hormone?”. Let’s learn that then!

Note: Most probably, you have already used the term “function”, meaning something the design is supposed to DO or accomplish (often verb-noun pairs). This is different from objectives, which focus on qualities the design should have (often adjectives). You will learn about this a little bit more in the next chapter. For now, let’s just look at some tools that can help us to understand how nature does different things.

Watch Ask nature in full screen.

Here is the link to The Biomimicry Institute’s AskNature resource:  https://asknature.org/

The following activities will help you explore examples on your own.

Activity 1: Use AskNature to look up functions that personally interest you. Can’t think of anything? Look around your learning space and try to find an item (ex. a lamp). What is its primary function, or what does it DO (ex. provide light)? How does nature do this?

Activity 2: Use AskNature to look up functions related to a school project (past or present). The more open-ended the project, or the more you have control over in designing, the better!

Nature’s Unifying Patterns

What are some general lessons nature can teach us? Can we learn from these patterns when generating ideas, or even use them to validate our designs?

Watch Nature’s unifying patterns in full screen.

The Biomimicry Institute’s Pattern Toolbox: https://toolbox.biomimicry.org/core-concepts/natures-unifying-patterns/