BIOMIMICRY MATCHING Game
Cindi Smith-Walters
Cindi.Smith-Walters@mtsu.edu
Materials You Will Need:
Copies of cards (below, laminated if desired, with answers removed)
A model/toy/picture to match with each card (Put these items in paper bags to mask their
identity.)
Directions:
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Divide the group into 9 groups.
Pass out bags and cards so that each group gets either a bag OR a card.
Have them match the bag contents with the cards.
After matches are made, have them sit together and attempt to answer the trigger
question/questions on each card.
Have groups show their natural object and share their information with the class.
Cards:
Today soldiers wear camouflage to blend in with their surroundings. But
nature ‘invented’ camouflage long before we did. This organism is a good
example. It can imitate a rock and wave a pink fleshy knob to attract
prey.
After you make your match, talk with your team and discuss why
scientists used this natural object as their inspiration.
What other examples from nature illustrate the concept of camouflage?
I used a picture of an alligator snapping turtle although a toy snapping turtle would work,
too.
Forty years ago, a fellow from Switzerland noticed how stubbornly
cockleburs clung to his pants. Curious, he examined one under a
microscope and noticed the burr’s natural hooks clung to the loops of the
pant fabric. This natural object from nature was the inspiration for a
famous two sided fastener.
After you make your match, talk with your team.
What other examples of natural objects being inspiration for inventions
can you think of?
I used a length of Velcro.
NASA has proposed to develop an aircraft modeled on these objects for
planetary observations.. The single or double-winged flyers could be
released into the atmosphere from a probe flying over the planet’s surface
and collect data and relay it back to the probe before landing.
After you make your match, talk with your team and discuss what
characteristics of this natural object made it a good inspiration.
What is another product this natural object might inspire?
I used a dozen maple seeds.
Blue mussels anchor themselves to rocks with tethers called byssal
threads. Each thread is covered with a special coating to protect it from
waves and hungry microbes. After a few years the coating falls apart and
the threads decompose.
After you make your match, talk with your team and discuss how the
characteristics of byssal threads found on this natural object might be
useful to us in reducing the amount of waste going into landfills? What
product might this special coating inspire?
I used a freshwater mussel shell, but a rocky shore mussel was the original inspiration.
Researchers have been inspired by these natural objects to develop a
fabric with flaps that open when you sweat so you can cool down. The
flaps close again when you dry off. (When this natural object dries out, it
changes shape and releases its seeds.)
After you make your match, talk with your team and discuss the
characteristics of this natural object that made it a good inspiration for
scientists. What other product might it inspire?
I used several pine cones.
See an article on the fabric at http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/pf/80961856.html
Most plastics use nonrenewable resources - gas, crude oil, or coal – as
starting materials. Turning these into plastic takes a lot of energy. A
new plastic made from carbon dioxide and the oil found in the covering of
this natural object would start with renewable materials, take little energy
to make, and making it would use up carbon dioxide that might otherwise
contribute to global climate change.
After you make your match, talk with your team about what other ways
we know of to reduce carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. What other
product might the oil in this object’s covering inspire?
I used an orange.
In 1969 scientists discovered thermophilic (“heat loving”) bacteria in the
steaming hot springs of Yellowstone National Park. Years later, they used
a heat-resistant enzyme found in these bacteria to create millions of
copies of DNA from as little as a single molecule. (Before this we couldn’t
easily copy DNA because the heat needed to do so destroy most
enzymes.) Now we can copy even tiny bits of DNA and make many copies.
After you make your match, talk with your team. Why would it be useful
to be able to make many copies of DNA? How did/does this heat resistant
bacteria help us?
I used a picture of bacteria (line drawing).
Engineers are designing robots to that can find victims buried under
earthquake rubble or trapped in burning buildings. These robots are
jointed, so they can move from side to side and sensors in their ‘head’ and
exterior covering help them to avoid obstacles. Last of all, because they
travel low to the ground it doesn’t tip over or get stuck.
After you make your match, talk with your team and discuss what
characteristics of this natural object made it a good inspiration. What
other product might this natural object inspire?
I used a picture of a snake, although a toy plastic/rubber snake would work, too.
Nacre (pronounced NAY-ker, also called “mother of pearl”), the iridescent
lining of this organism, is mostly calcium carbonate (plain old chalk!). But
it is so tough a truck can run over it without cracking it. Nacre is made
without using heat, complex equipment, or chemicals. Scientists are trying
to figure out how to create super strong materials under ordinary
conditions.
After you make your match, talk with your team about two things
scientists might make/build using the lining of this shell as inspiration.
I used a mussel shell, but an abalone shell was the original inspiration.