Biomimicry Program
About this Program
Biomimicry is the practice of learning from and emulating nature’s strategies to address human design challenges. It involves observing the intricate, interconnected world of living organisms, which have perfected their methods over billions of years through evolution. By drawing inspiration from these natural processes, biomimicry aims to create products, processes, and systems that harmonize with Earth’s ecosystems, paving the way for sustainable living. This approach offers adaptable and scalable solutions across various industries, promoting both environmental and personal healing.
The Biomimicry Institute’s Youth Design Challenge (YDC) embodies this philosophy, providing middle and high school students with hands-on opportunities to develop bio-inspired solutions to real-world problems. Join the ACS Athens Biomimicry Team on a journey that combines creativity, insights from nature, and a commitment to our planet’s future.
Objectives
Students will:
- Describe how structures, processes, and systems in nature have inspired humans to create innovative designs.
- Experience a design process that blends design thinking, engineering, and biomimicry.
- Define a real-world problem and identify criteria and constraints.
- Gather and apply scientific information from credible sources.
- Identify biological model(s) for design inspiration and describe how its traits perform a beneficial function.
- Collaborate to create a biomimicry solution, inspired by a biological model.
- Demonstrate science and engineering practices and an understanding of STEM concepts.
- Collaborate to present what they designed and how they designed it to a wide audience.
- Defend how their solution contributes to addressing their respective chosen Sustainable Development Goal (SDG).
Prerequisites
Prerequisites to join:
- Current ACS Athens Middle School Student;
- Teams of 2-8 students;
- Aspiring Innovators, Entrepreneurs, STEM scientists, Environmentalists;
- Must attend weekly team meetings (excluding school holidays); Up to 5 absences allowed;
- Parental Consent and Release Form signed.
Schedule
Registration currently closed.