Melting Pot Experiment
Pupils exolore how artic animals survive in freezing conditions by exploring the principles of insulation and applying their knowledge to mimicking the insulating properties of blubber.
Soapy Surface
Pupils gain insight into how water striders are able to walk on water and explore surface tension.
Nature's Toolkit
Pupils explore how natural objects can serve as substitutes for everyday tools we use. This encourages pupils to draw connections between the multifunctionality observed in nature and its potential for inspiring human innovation and design.
How Many Seeds Can You Pack?
Pupils explore efficient space utilization in the natural world and uncover how nature masterfully fits form to function through spirals. This encourages pupils to draw connections between spiral configurations in nature and their potential to inspire human innovations and designs.
Strong Spiral Shapes
Pupils explore how spiral arrangements contribute to strength and stability, a phenomenon often observed in nature, such as in shells. This activity encourages pupils to draw connections between spiral configurations in nature and their potential to inspire human innovations and designs.
Flap Like an Eagle
Pupils explore bird wing adaptations and how they relate to the different flight behaviors of various bird species. Pupils will draw connections between bird wing adaptations and their potential applications in human innovations and designs.
The Bernoulli Principle
Pupils uncover the secrets of aerodynamics and the fundamental Bernoulli principle. Pupils learn the basics of the Bernoulli principle and its role in creating lift, a concept that's key to both bird flight and human-designed applications like airplanes.
Self-organisation
Pupils discover how simple rules for an individual can lead to complex outcomes at the group level, as seen in nature. This will help pupils recognise the potential of self-organisation and its applications in human interactions, fostering a deeper understanding of cooperation and its role in achieving collective goals.
Sense of Dogs
How does a dog's excellent sense of smell help humans? In this activity, pupils observe dogs with a focus on their excellent sense of smell and discuss different areas where dogs help people. Are dogs also talented in diagnosing our health problems?
Make a Spider Web
Pupils work in a creative manner and learn about spider webs along the way.
Spider True or False
A true-false exercise about spider thread followed by a discussion.
Flight Ability Test
Test the flight ability of different seeds and create our own models of winged seeds. This activity complements the activity described in the “Clever cones” biomimicry story.
Rainbow Coloured Chocolate
Create rainbow-colored chocolate just by changing its surface texture. By experimenting with chocolate, we can imitate the identical method used by some animals to produce their iridescent colouration.
Vision Test
Test your visual acuity with the ability to count the number of tiny dots and compare your score with the eagle!
This activity introduces pupils to the concept of visual acuity and its difference in relation to zoom.
Colours Animals See
Pupils explore the differences in colour perception between humans and different animals. Can humans see UV light? Can birds? What is the connection with spider webs?
Small Mammals Game
In this activity, pupils explore how animal prepare themselves for winter and learn about insulation.
Streams
How streamlined are birds? This activity allows pupils to tests different shapes and discover why animals adapt their shape.
The Leaky Bottle Trick
Pupils explore surface tension of water and discover the remarkable relationship between surface tension and air pressure.
My Natural Place Haiku
Pupils perceive the vibrant energy of nature and involve the senses in observation. Pupils will record their magic moment of (re)connection with nature in the form of haiku and/or drawing.
Essential Oils Against Fungi
Pupils are introduced to the volatile substances in plants that act against mould. Pupils work in groups to test whether the use of essential oil (or another natural fungicide) will stop the growth of mould in a Petri dish.
Amazing Regenerative Abilities of Plants
This experiment follows on from the observation of the self-healing abilities of plant and animal bodies. In addition to the amazing ability to heal wounds, many plants are capable of an even greater feat, which is to restore their entire body from a small piece of it.
Carpets Design by Nature
Pupils take on the role of innovators and design an original carpet for a design competition of young eco-innovators. They observe natural patterns, structures and colours, and create a graphic design of their carpet. The activity is ideal for art or design classes.
DIY Anti-Fungal Potions
Pupils learn how to make natural fungicide sprays at home, as an alternative to the negative effects of synthetic fungicides on human health and the environment.
Improving Places to Feel Better
Pupils explore their surroundings in groups. They work with a plan of the space, and with the help of a set of suggestion cards, they recommend improvements so that they might feel more relaxed.
Melting Ice Cubes
Bird use air to trap warmth, and this activity helps pupils understand this strategy.
Observing Water Drops
Pupils observe the behaviour of water on different plant leaves to learn about hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces.
The Pitfalls of Genetic Modification
Try to find the best way to progress using genetic modification. The main goal of the game is to acquaint pupils with the possible dangers that can be caused by careless use of the crispr cas9 method.
Acidic vs. Alkaline Environments
An experiment with an egg in vinegar explains the effect of an acidic environment on materials. The activity introduces pupils to a biomimicry innovation that tackles the problem of food security and crop losses due to fungal diseases.
Dog Movie
Pupils watch a short movie about dogs and then discuss how we can learn from the way dogs use their sense of smell.
Nature's Many Uses
This activity encourages pupils to draw connections between how natural objects often have many uses (multifunctionality) and its potential applications in human innovation and design.
Simon Says
This fun game helps pupils understand the importance of following instructions accurately. Pupils experience the challenge of adhering to a set of simple rules, much like the coordination observed in starling flocks, and explore how this principle in nature inspires effective group dynamics and decision-making in human interactions.
To Break or Not to Break?
In this activity, pupils explore how nature uses curves to create strength.
Breaking Eggs
A quick and simple activity which will surprise pupils; why are eggs so strong?
Whose Wings are Those?
Explore the fascinating world of bird wing shapes and their connections to flight. Pupils uncover the diversity of wing shapes found in birds, learn how each shape is perfectly adapted for specific types of flight and recognize how nature masterfully fits form to function.
Soil Ladder
Pupils explore the decomposition of leaves to learn about how nature recyles everything.
Photosynthesis Role Play
Pupils discover how photosynthesis is the basis for all life on Earth.
Leaf Chromatography
In this experiment, pupils explore chlorophyll in leaves and the different colours it creates.
Amazing Ants Activity
This is a brief description of the activity to tell teachers what they can find inside.
Age: 9-12
Duration: 1 hour
Scented Ropes
Ants have an amazing way to tell each other where to find food. In this activity, pupils become ants and see if they can find their 'food'.