Biomimicry examples for students

Famous examples

• Velcro: engineer George de Mestral studied the tiny hooks on burrs that stuck to his dog's fur.
• Lotus effect: tiny bumps on lotus leaves make water roll off, carrying dirt; this inspired self-cleaning paints and glass.
• Kingfisher bullet train: Japanese engineers reshaped the Shinkansen's nose like a kingfisher's beak to make it quieter leaving tunnels.
• Termite-inspired building: the Eastgate Centre in Zimbabwe uses chimneys and heavy materials for natural cooling.
• Living root bridges: in Meghalaya, India, people guide fig tree roots into bridges that grow stronger with age.

Classroom design challenge

• Pick a problem: staying cool, keeping clean, saving water, moving quietly.
• Ask "How does nature do this?" and research one plant or animal that solves it.
• Sketch an invention or building feature based on it.
• Build a simple model and test it.
• Present: the problem, the organism, the design and the test results.

Questions students and teachers ask

Building pages to use with this guide

• Green WorldNature's materialsStone, timber and glass for the city\x27s builders, and the real inventions engineers have copied from nature.
• Green WorldBreathing spireAn imagined tower that breathes like a termite mound, pulling cool air in and letting warm air out with no machines.
• Green WorldGreat tree hallAn imagined hall grown from a living tree. In the real world, people already shape living roots and trunks into bridges and buildings.
• Green WorldMushroom cottageA playful toadstool home. Real scientists grow building blocks and packaging from mycelium, the root-like threads of fungi.
• Green WorldFirefly towerAn imagined tower that glows like a firefly. Real scientists have already made living plants that glow in the dark.