Imagine having materials that could fix and heal themselves. What if bridges could repair their cracks? What if paints could deal with the impact of different sorts of weather and seal up scratches? What would you design?
Developing self-healing capabilities is popular and fascinating! If something gets hurt, it can fix and repair itself. For example, if you cut your finger, it can heal by itself in a week. But if you scratch the paint on your bicycle, you must buy paint to repair it.
Salamanders have an incredible capacity to regrow limbs. They can even regrow hearts and brain tissue. In the video below, you can learn how they regrow a limb. This is biomimicry at its most direct — not just admiring an animal’s ability, but asking what material science could learn from the exact mechanism behind it. Researchers have actually developed an adhesive hydrogel derived from Chinese giant salamander skin secretions for medical use.
This resource has an activity about salamanders regrowing limbs. You’ll find it here and here.
Rhino horns can also regrow and heal themselves. Younger rhinos can grow horns back faster than older rhinos. But elephants cannot regrow their tusks; these are made of ivory, which is comparable in substance to a tooth. Studying rhinos, whose horns are made of the same material as our fingernails, can teach us how to develop self-healing materials.
Finally, the book about Keystone Species – Opportunities for Everyone: Lessons from Keystone Species with STEAM & Biomimicry Activities has one activity where children design something inspired by rhino horns.
“Opportunities for Everyone: Lessons from Keystone Species with STEAM & Biomimicry Activities
Unlock the mystery of nature’s Keystone Species with this puzzle-themed adventure! Just like a giant puzzle made of countless pieces, ecosystems rely on these special species to complete the big picture. In this fun and educational resource, students will discover how creatures like sea otters, jaguars, and humpback whales are the vital puzzle pieces that hold entire ecosystems together. With engaging biomimicry challenges and hands-on activities, students will piece together knowledge while creating their own masterpieces inspired by nature. Dive in and help your students solve the greatest puzzle of all—the balance of our natural world.”
Sources
- Springer Nature, Bioinspired Bioadhesion: Translating Nature’s Adhesive Strategies into Regenerative Medicine
- ScienceDirect, Self-Healing Material: An Overview
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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