The forest is home for thousands of species, big animals like bears, and deer, and smaller animals like hedgehogs, porcupines and rabbits. Thousands of ways to explore possibilities and be inspired.
Porcupine Quills to Needles (21st Century Junior Library: Tech from Nature) by Jennifer Colby is a book in a series that aims towards providing children with skills that will help them to succeed in the 21st century. The series is about biomimicry, yippeee, and they are recommended for children in year 2 to 5. Perfect books filled with facts about animals or plants. There is also a description of an idea that has emerged from the observations of the animal or plant.
The book about porcupine is perfect to use with this booklet that I recently made. My booklet aims towards taking the learning a bit further and inspire children to ask their own questions based upon an observation and then use it to invent something themselves or solve a problem. So this is a perfect match.
In my booklet, children are asked to compare the spines of hedgehogs with the porcupine quills. They can invent a helmet inspired by hedgehogs or look for a sharp idea inspired by porcupines.
Happy thinking!
Woodland – Lapbook, STEAM, Biomimicry Tpt
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.