Use the beach to spark your imagination!
What could be better than lying in silence at the shore, listening to the waves and watching sand grains roll back and forth?
Explore beaches and admire seashells while you breathe in the sea air. A day at the beach is a wonderful adventure. It is a great way to dive into the mysterious world of sea creatures and plants.
Swirling seaweed.
Crabs running around.
Graceful seashells with spiralling centres mixed with millions of broken shells.
Most shells have been home to molluscs. Molluscs are more or less like liquid, and the shell protects the soft-bodied animals. Shells are mostly calcium carbonate, and they are little masterpieces of design.
Like magic, a shell grows from the bottom upwards as the animal inside it grows. Shells come in many different colours. Calcium carbonate is mostly white, so shells get their beautiful colours from impurities and waste from the organisms captured in the shell when formed.
There are many different types of shells. Bivalves are the most common type of seashell you find on the beach. You find them both in salt and freshwater. They are two shells that are hinged together via a flexible hinge. Oysters, mussels, clams, and scallops are bivalves.
Collecting seashells and bringing them home might seem like an innocent thing. But always think twice before you collect shells. Bring your Biomimicry Journal and make sketches of the shells on the beach. Or take photos.
Feel inspired by the seashell and explore ideas for using its beautiful shape to build a summerhouse or its strong shell to build a super-strong bicycle or car.
You’ll find more inspiration for a seashell house here
Book Tips
The friends discover something amazing.
A mollusc is living in one of the shells. So they carefully put that shell back into the water.
You’ll find the resource here.
You may like this blog post about shells with instructions on making a seashell garland.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is biomimicry?
Biomimicry is the practice of looking to nature for solutions, then applying what we learn to design and problem-solving. Instead of inventing from scratch, it means studying how plants, animals, and ecosystems have already solved a challenge — like staying cool, collecting water, or absorbing carbon — and adapting that strategy for human use.
How does biomimicry help address climate change?
Nature has been adapting to extreme conditions for billions of years, so many organisms already hold working solutions to problems we now face at a larger scale — cooling buildings without electricity (termite mounds), collecting water in drought (the Namib beetle), protecting coastlines from storms (mangrove roots), and capturing carbon (corals, forests, kelp). Biomimicry means studying those solutions and applying the same principles to human design.
How can children get involved in biomimicry?
Children don’t need special training to think like a biomimicrist — just curiosity and a habit of asking “how does nature solve this?” Simple ways to start include a backyard scavenger hunt for nature’s patterns, a “design-an-animal” challenge for a changing climate, or building a small model (like a passive-cooling structure or a water collector) inspired by something they’ve observed outdoors.
Is biomimicry only for scientists and engineers?
No — biomimicry is as much a mindset as a profession. Anyone can practice it by observing nature closely and asking design questions. Professional biomimicry practitioners apply it in architecture, materials science, and engineering, but the same core skill — careful observation followed by “what if we built it that way?” — is exactly what this post’s classroom and family activities are designed to build in children.
Åsa Jomård
In 2015, Åsa completed a course in Biomimicry: A Sustainable Design Methodology at Minneapolis College of Art and Design. With over 10 years of experience exploring nature for inspiration and as a former member of Ben, Biomimicry Education Network, she brings both academic background and creative teaching experience to her work. Her materials seamlessly integrate stories, nature observations, and design challenges, making them perfect for inquiry-led learning in early primary contexts.
AI was used as a Thinking Partner.