Chemistry lab work. Photo by Kentucky Country Day

Beyond Benign offers three high school chemistry labs that may be of interest to biomimicry educators. Beyond Benign is a non-profit dedicated to providing future and current scientists, educators, and citizens with the tools to teach and learn about green chemistry. It was founded by John Warner of the Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry. Warner, with Paul Anastas, wrote the book Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice.

All of Beyond Benign’s high school level green chemistry lesson plans work together to teach students that there are ways to do chemistry that are less harmful to the environment and our health. The three that are about biomimicry are: Green Chemistry–Biomimicry and Intermolecular Forces, VBT–Bio-inspired Polymers, and Dye-Sensitized Blackberry Solar Cell. The latter was the basis for our recent lab, Dye-Sensitized Solar Energy.

If you want to dive deeper into Green Chemistry in high school education, consider taking Beyond Benign’s online summer course.