Happy New Year!
A New Year’s Day tradition is to watch Vienna Philharmonic Concert. At this year’s concert the guest conductor Riccardo Muti talks about joy, hope, peace, brotherhood, and “Love” with capital “L,”. The world needs to consider culture as one of the primary pre-measure elements to help build a better society in the future, he says.
Music, art and drama are vital ingredients that are often overlooked when it comes to ways to build a better society. During what seems like endless months of lockdowns, suspicious coughs and colds, I have returned to listening more to music and I have let ideas about how to use nature in the classroom rest a bit.
Just before Christmas, I was asked to talk about Biomimicry in Education at the Université Côte d’Azur. The students studied Marine Biology and took a course on biomimicry. As part of the course, some students have made a very engaging Biomimicry Game. Great idea!
After my short presentation, delivered via the 2020s most popular technology Zoom, someone asked me if I thought that young students could come up with ideas.
The question made me reflect on how I use nature to inspire kids to be creative and whether biomimicry really works.
Reflecting on your ideas is always important, and I have also thought about whether biomimicry really offers a way to help build a better society.
Feedback from teachers says their students have really enjoyed using the materials I create; admittedly, not every teacher provides feedback. Most of my materials are open-structured and rely on allowing teachers and students to explore nature together by making observations, asking questions and using their observations to solve problems or create wondrous inventions.
Perhaps this approach is, after all more adventurous than I think. Yet, for me, it is one way to inspire kids to think as well as develop a love for nature. And teaching kids to think is vital and ultimately should always be one of the goals of teaching.
Why not introduce Biomimicry in your home or classroom in 2021?
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.
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