Educational Resources
AskNature.org
Discover thousands of resources—including biological strategies, innovations inspired by nature, articles, videos, lesson plans, activities for groups, and more—available to folks who want to learn, teach, and practice.
Get started with our favorite collections on AskNature.
The Biomimicry Toolbox
The toolbox provides an orientation to biomimicry and introduces a set of tools and core concepts that can help problem-solvers from any discipline begin to incorporate insights from nature into their solutions.
Get started with this free resource here.
30 Days of Reconnection
In the spirit of reconnecting with the natural world around us, our team has put together a 30 day course of our favorite biomimicry activities to share with our wonderful community. Through these activities, we hope to give you a greater sense of our Biomimicry Ethos and to learn how to tap into nature’s wisdom.
Get started with day 1 here.
A 101 Guide for Your Community
The best way to make global change happen is to start with a local approach. This introductory guide will help you bring biomimicry into your community so you can feel empowered to spread hope and action through nature-inspired thinking and practice.
Download the guide here.
‘Learn Biomimicry’ Course
‘Learn Biomimicry’ is an online course offering created by BiomimicrySA (South Africa) in partnership with the Biomimicry Institute. Gain a comprehensive understanding of the concepts, tools, and terminology of biomimicry, and learn the steps of how to put biomimicry into practice.
To register, visit learnbiomimicry.com.
Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature
First published in 1997, this profound book by Biomimicry Institute founder Janine Benyus details how science is studying nature’s best ideas to solve our toughest 21st-century problems. Janine takes readers into the lab and in the field with maverick thinkers. Learn more about the book and purchase it here.
Biomimicry Academy
Biomimicry Academy is an online training that turns innovative minds into skilled change-makers through a combination of human-centered and life-centered design, biomimicry and nature-based solutions, circular economy, systems thinking, research capacities, and business modeling.
Learn more and register here.
Mimic Makers
Meet ten mimic makers in this children’s picture book who are learning from the living world. They wonder, ask questions, and gather great ideas from nature. Then they copy these ideas to invent amazing new technology to help people everywhere. A portion of profits will be donated to the Youth Design Challenge. Order here.
Biomimicry and Science High School Curriculum
This science curriculum reinforces core concepts in biology, chemistry, and physics, and includes a biomimicry design challenge. Co-authored by the Biomimicry Institute and EcoRise, students are introduced to eco-literacy and design innovation concepts through project-based learning and emphasizes real-world application. Sign up here.
Biomimicry and Business
This comprehensive book by author Margo Farnsworth details how the five companies discovered the practices, introduced them to staff, engaged in the process, and measured outcomes. Purchase the book here and use discount code FLY21. The author has generously offered HALF of the proceeds to the Biomimicry Institute. Your support for learning matters!
Biomimicry Basics
Online Course
Instructor Denise DeLuca, PE, cofounder of Biomimicry for Creative Innovation, will show you a step-by-step method for turning nature’s strategies into innovative solutions for human problems. You’ll not only learn the ‘what’ and ‘why’ of biomimicry, you’ll learn how to apply biomimicry to solve technical and non-technical problems. Enroll here via BCI.
Concrete that
Supports Marine Life
ECOncrete
Coral-Inspired Eco-Friendly Clothing
Werewool
Nematode Inspired Better Farming Practices
Pheronym
Preserving Food Inspired by Plants
Nanomik Biotechnology
Pitcher Plant-Inspired Super-Slippery Coating
SPOTless Materials
How Fungi Can Help Clean Up Pollution
Novobiom
Insect Inspires Water-Capturing Mesh
Infinite Cooling
Butterfly Inspired Air Purification
Metalmark Innovations
Butterfly-Inspired Paint Colors
Cypris Materials
Tree-Inspired Waste Disposal
change:WATER Labs
Tides Inspire a Way to Clean Hemp Fibers
Renaissance Fiber
Sticky Mussels Inspire Adhesive
Mussel Polymers
Mimicking Oyster Shells to Start New Reefs
Grow Oyster Reefs
Shrimp-Inspired Strong Materials
Helicoid Industries
Using Light to Produce Chemicals
New Iridium
5/20/2022: From a Meme to a Movement: 25 Years of Biomimicry
10/22/20: The Nature of Fashion: Moving Towards a Regenerative Model
6/18/20: Getting Unstuck: Tapping Into Nature for Problem Solving
12/15/21: The Nature of Fashion: Design for Decomposition
9/17/20: Bringing a Biomimetic Startup to Market
5/21/20: Inaugural Biomimicry Fireside Chat with Janine Benyus and Azita Ardakani
12/17/20: Envisioning a New Path Forward: Healing with Biomimicry
8/27/20: Transforming Education: Fostering Students’ Reconnection with Nature
Using Biomimicry to Find Sustainable Answers in Nature’s Designs
How Biomimicry Can Offer Solutions to some of The Biggest Challenges of Our Times
Finding a Business
Partner in Nature
The Regenerators: Beth Rattner, Executive Director of the Biomimicry Institute
A quick reminder…
Before you go down a rabbit hole of links, let us take a moment to remind you to go outside, too! Biomimicry offers a whole new way of seeing the world around you. Practice sitting quietly in nature and observing with a curious mind. What do you notice about the plants and animals in your area? What relationships do you see? What patterns? It’s amazing what can be revealed to you when you really start to look through this lens.
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Imagine a world where everything we make is inspired by the natural world. By supporting the Biomimicry Institute you:
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