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.

Short Films and Videos

RAY OF HOPE PRIZE SOLUTIONS

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

Spiders Reveal Solution for Textiles
Spintex

Beetle Inspires a New Bright White Color
Impossible Materials

Harnessing Nature’s Molecular Water Filter
Aquammodate

Training Fungi to Turn Waste into Materials
Biohm

BIOMIMICRY FIRESIDE CHATS

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

11/19/20: Integrating Biomimicry into Soil Regeneration

7/16/20: Start Where You Are: Uprooting Racism and Creating Systemic Change in STEM

LEARNING ABOUT BIOMIMICRY

The Promise of Biomimicry

Biomimicry

A Journey of Design Inspired by Nature

Biomimicry is About Belonging

A Founder-Focused Accelerator Guided by Nature

Why Engineers Steal from Nature

​Nature Can Help Us Prepare for the Next Pandemic

The Biomimicry Educator Ripple Effect

BIOMIMICRY CONVERSATIONS

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

3 Ways Biomimicry is Helping Humanity

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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Support the Next Generation
of Nature-Inspired Innovators

Imagine a world where everything we make is inspired by the natural world. By supporting the Biomimicry Institute you:

  • Help bring biomimicry education to more students and educators
  • Accelerate the growth of more nature-inspired startups and entrepreneurs
  • Increase the number of biological strategies and resources on AskNature.org and across our entire organization.

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