A plant revealing its wonderous secrets!
Picking a Dandelion head, making a wish, and blowing the puff into the air, watching as the little white fluff floats away on a light breeze, is a lovely way to experience nature’s magic.
Many people regard dandelions as weeds, but they can also be seen as wildflowers since they grow in the wild. Dandelions are rich in pollen and nectar and provide a great food source for pollinators such as bees and bumblebees. The flowers provide food for beetles and butterflies, while the seeds are cherished by many birds.
The bright, cheerful yellow flowers, the amazing seed clocks, and the strong hollow stalks can inspire ideas.
A project involving dandelions is perfect at this time of year—and especially perfect if you are homeschooling your children due to the coronavirus.
Take out the magnifying glasses and marvel at pappus.
Our book “Biomimicry with Theo & Tuva: Nature spotting inspires wild ideas” has a chapter dedicated to Dandelions. The first section of each little chapter is a fictional story where the children, Theo and Tuva, make an observation. In the second section, there are facts about an animal or plant. The third section contains a prompt to use the observation to solve a problem or invent something inspired by the observation. This book works well with the resource below about Dandelions.
Click here to read more about Dandelions.
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.