The star-nosed mole can smell underwater using air bubbles.
Can you invent something amazing and useful using this as inspiration?
Moles are small mammals with velvety fur and small eyes. They are adapted to a subterranean lifestyle and are famous for their short, powerful arms and large paws adapted for tunnelling. Although gardeners do not always appreciate mole mounds, they do not eat plant roots. They contribute to a healthy landscape by mixing nutrients and improving soil aeration and drainage. The tiny mammal also eats many lawn and garden pests, including slugs.
Most mole species can swim, but the strange-looking star-nosed mole is particularly strong. The protrusion on its nose looks almost like a hand and is used to touch and feel things. Its protrusion, hand-on-the-face, is called Eimer’s organs, the 22 rays of the nose. There are 25,000 of these special touch organs, despite the nose only being about one centimetre across. The rays contain around 100,000 nerve endings.
This unique animal also blows air bubbles underwater to help it smell things. Usually, we do not associate the ability to smell with being underwater, but the bubbles the mole blows capture scent particles in the water. The star-nosed mole then blows the air bubbles back into its nose to sniff the particles. Without this ability, the mole can not follow the scent of its prey in the water or even avoid being captured by a predator.
The star-nosed mole might help us develop tools for detecting contamination in deep water or even air. The air bubbles could inspire systems to purify water
Or maybe exploring the health of coral reefs!
Or detect old plastic in the ocean that is starting to smell?
Plastic does not smell! Well, old plastic in the ocean may smell like food to turtles. Over time, a layer of algae and microbes builds up on the plastic. A study showed that loggerhead turtles did not react to new plastic but tried to eat plastic covered in algae and microbes (tiny organisms are invisible to the naked eye).
We decided to make a MOLisha Plastic Detector. Our invention is named after one of our cats – Molisha.
This idea started years earlier as a daydream — see the original post, Moles with Incredible Noses and Paws, where the first spark of “what if?” began. Real researchers have been chasing the same idea. Scientists have since built a robotic hand that combines touch and smell — just like a star-nosed mole — to recognise objects without ever needing to see them, ideal for search-and-rescue work in smoke, rubble, or murky water. Other teams have built soft, flexible robots with star-shaped sensors that can explore and map entire spaces in total darkness, the same way a mole navigates its tunnels. MOLisha, it turns out, was onto something real scientists are only now catching up to.
Now it is time for you to get inventing for a greener planet.
You can start by listing five things in your local area that you would like to help.
You’ll find the resource here.
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.