Butterfly wing close-up; Photo by Muhammad Mahdi Karim

What’s that Life’s Principle? Use multifunctional design? That’s exactly the kind of questioning Dr. Jay Bolin, assistant professor of biology at Catawba College in Salisbury, North Carolina, used to engage high school students from around the country in learning about biomimicry. Groups of students used GPS units to navigate a geocaching course on the college’s 189-acre ecological preserve. At each station, they found natural organisms or displays with questions to help them to think about biomimicry and design. An article in the Salisbury Post referred to this as “geocaching with a sustainable purpose.”

While nature walks are one way to get students engaged in learning about nature and biomimicry, adding another component like geocaching increases the challenge and the fun. What are some possible additions to this activity to make it even more engaging? Please feel free to provide some ideas in the comments.

This activity was part of the Redesigning Our Future: National Environmental Summit for High School Students put on by the Center for the Environment at Catawba College and the Rocky Mountain Institute.