Middle School Students Blend Art and Science in Biomimicry Projects

Seventh graders displayed what Middle School Director Becky Hausammann described as “inventiveness and exuberance” last week at the Biomimicry Exhibition held last week for parents and friends in Lincoln Lobby.

If you aren’t familiar with biomimicry, you’re not alone. But given that we live in what has been identified as a “biomimicry hub” - with the Great Lakes Biomimicry Institute practically in our backyard and a “one of a kind graduate degree program” based at the University of Akron - you might want to study up.
 
The Biomimicry Institute offers what is perhaps the most readily accessible explanation of this growing field, describing it as “the science of emulating nature’s best ideas to solve human problems.” And that is exactly what Hawken seventh graders were asked to do in this multi-week, interdisciplinary unit.
 
It all started several years ago when Hawken science and art teachers Anna Delia and Erin Thomas were motivated by a presentation given by Janine Benyus, founder of the Biomimicry Institute at the University of Akron. Recognizing that this emerging area of bioengineering provided a natural bridge between their two subjects, they wanted to introduce the powerful concept to their seventh graders to help teach them how to solve problems creatively.
 
It wasn’t long before these two Hawken educators received a summer grant stipend to develop an integrated unit on biomimicry, combining aspects of scientific problem solving and creative design. Not only were they among the first secondary school teachers to roll out a biomimicry curriculum; they are to date the only middle school teachers in Northeast Ohio to have initiated such a program.
 
What they came up with has been nothing short of inspirational to their students, in part because they put the learning in the students’ hands. “To kick off the unit,” the teachers explain, “we asked students to bring in an everyday object that they thought could be improved. We wanted them to find a problem that was real to them. As students chose their problem, their experiences in both class settings helped grow their understanding of how to “biologize” the problem and design a solution. We then tailored each class experience to focus on the science and art aspects of biomimicry.”
 
As students went about defining a problem and proposing a solution to that problem, they were tasked with writing a “user statement” - for example: “This uncomfortable user needs a coat that keeps them warm so they don’t have to wear a lot of layers in cold weather.” They then looked to nature for inspiration, observing local environments; researching organism traits (focusing in this particular case on seals and the artic fox); and reading excerpts from Zygote Quarterly, an academic journal focusing on current innovations in biomimicry. After coming up with a proposed solution to their problem, they drafted a sample experiment to test their solution. They then wrote a paper detailing their findings.
 
Adding an artistic dimension to their scientific inquiry, students learned about the ways in which biomimicry is used in fine art, architecture, and product design. They then worked in groups to create a digital vision board that highlighted the elements of art involved in the planning of their product solution and to construct a sculpture that represented their idea in a tangible, aesthetic way.
 
This interdisciplinary, self-directed unit elicited an enthusiastic response from students. “We learned so much,” one student commented. Another added, “It was a team effort, and we had a choice of what to study, so that was really cool.”
 
 
 
Back
    • Zach Reitman: Inspired by seals and arctic foxes to design a warm coat. (Not pictured: group members Zachary Greenberg and Cordelia Zheng)

    • Lauren Wiertel: Inspired by spiders to design a strong backpack. (Not pictured: group members Faris Danan, Nicole Price, and Sean Ross)

    • Krishna Makunda, Michael Gilbert, and Max Spilman: Inspired by cheetahs to design a running shoe that does not lose traction

An independent, coeducational, college preparatory day school, toddler through grade 12

Early Childhood, Lower, and Middle Schools, 5000 Clubside Rd, Lyndhurst, OH 44124
Birchwood School of Hawken, 4400 West 140th Street, Cleveland, OH 44135 

Upper School, PO Box 8002 (12465 County Line Rd), Gates Mills, OH 44040
Mastery School of Hawken, 11025 Magnolia Dr, Cleveland, OH 44106

Gries Center, 10823 Magnolia Dr, Cleveland, OH 44106

Directions  |  Log in  |  440-423-4446