1. June’s Curriculum

2. Design from Nature: Biomimcry
June 2015 Jr. Chapter STEM Activity
Design from Nature: Biomimcry
SHPE

3. Some simple advice:
Be prepared. Test-drive the activity beforehand.
Have all the required materials on hand.
Keep students on track.
Keep an eye on the clock and follow the time frame.
Be flexible and creative.
Have fun!

4. Design from Nature: Biomimicry
Goal: Students think about some designs that have evolved in nature to solve certain problems. They consider how biomimicry might offer solutions to a problem in their community. They then make two drawings of their design from two different visual perspectives, and present their drawings to the larger group.
Engineering/STEM areas:
Materials science, engineering design, biomimcry
Learning objectives
Understand what biomimicry is
Understand how engineers use nature to inspire design that can address issues in the community
Practice presenting ideas to others in the form of a poster

5. Design from Nature: Biomimicry
Time: mins
Suggested group size:
Pairs
Materials:
Student Resource Sheets (in lesson)
Student Worksheets (in lesson)
Paper or poster board for each pair, large enough for pairs to show their drawings to the larger group. (See Instructor Resource for suggested ways pairs can display their work)
Drawing pens or pencils for each pair, with a variety of colors
Tape (if you’ll be taping drawings to walls for a gallery walk)

6. Design from Nature: Biomimicry
Before the activity:
Read through both the student and instructor resources so you have the background information
Research and write a paragraph about a situation in your community that could be addressed with a biomimicry engineering solution.
Decide how you want students to display their work and get paper or tagboard of an appropriate size
Make enough copies of the Student Resource so that each student has one
Make one copy of the Student Worksheet per group, plus a few extras

7. Design from Nature: Biomimicry
Engineers can learn from solutions found in nature.
Biomimicry is the practice of looking at solutions that have evolved in nature and using them as inspiration for ways to solve problems in our human world.
Most of the time, nature relies on solutions that are sustainable, resilient, and which use resources efficiently. Engineers can try to transfer those qualities to an engineering solution. If they succeed, they create a project that’s highly desirable because it can save money and resources while accomplishing a complex task.
The Eastgate center in Harare, Zimbabwe, is modeled on the structure of termite towers. The towers contain tiny vents that the termites open and close, maintaining a constant temperature inside. Engineers used a similar idea to create a passive cooling system for the Eastgate center.

8. Design from Nature: Biomimicry
Engineers can be inspired by a single feature of an organism, or by an entire system.
Ever notice how a mosquito can bite you without you even knowing it? Engineers studied the mosquito’s stealth jab to design needles that offer a less painful poke.
Entire ecosystems can inspire solutions, too. Agricultural engineers are learning from the midwestern prairie ecosystem how to create farm fields don’t require fertilizers and pesticides, but still yield the same amount of food. Farmers and engineers in other climates can learn from these solutions about how parts of their own farm ecosystems are interconnected.

9. Design from Nature: Biomimicry
Activity procedure
Start the discussion by asking students to think of things that happen in nature that would also be nice if humans could do them. If necessary, give examples like insects flying really fast or plants harnessing the sun’s energy.
Explain that engineers look at nature all the time for inspiration and for efficient solutions to problems. Nature is a good place to look for solutions because natural systems evolve to use resources efficiently and to withstand and adapt to environmental pressures.
Introduce the example of the Eastgate Center as biomimicry in architecture and go over the information in the Student Resource.
Then introduce the issue in your community (or in the current news headlines or even a current movie). This issue could be a systemic problem, such as building a new water treatment plant, or a more specific issue, such as designing new street lights. Or it could relate to the natural climate, for example designing a swimming pool that doesn’t evaporate water in a desert environment, or a car engine heater that will help a car start in a cold, wintry environment.
Ask students for some suggestions of natural phenomena to look at for inspiration. Examples could be: how a lake ecosystem processes waste from lake animals, how an electric eel generates electricity, how desert insects protect their insides in the heat, etc.

10. Design from Nature: Biomimicry
Activity procedure (cont’d)
After hearing some student ideas, group students in pairs and make sure each pair has a set of drawing utensils and paper, tagboard, or posterboard.
If students have access to the internet, give them 10 minutes or so to research their idea (i.e. to learn how lakes balance the environmental effect of fish waste, etc.). If students don’t have access to the internet, have some information on hand that they can refer to. (See the Teacher Resource for ideas about how to choose an issue and background information.)
Give student pairs about 20 minutes to devise a solution inspired by the natural world. They should write a short paragraph describing their example, and make sketches of it from two different visual perspectives. They can draw their sketches and write their paragraphs directly onto the paper or tagboard, or they can practice first in the Student Resource. Remind them that this is just a quick draft, so they don’t need to be perfect, but they need to be clear enough for others to understand their ideas.
Display the posters in a way that works best in your environment. Invite students to do a gallery walk and look at each pair’s posters. If there are a few minutes at the end, invite students to ask questions about each other’s posters.

11. Design from Nature: Biomimicry
Assessment
Students create posters displaying their ideas. The posters need to include:
A paragraph describing how the design works and what element of nature it draws on
Drawings of the design from two different visual perspectives

12. Design from Nature: Biomimicry
Vocabulary
Adaptation – A strategy or characteristic that an organism has evolved in response to a pressure from its environment. For example, birds that gather nectar from deep inside a flower will have long beaks.
Biomimicry – Using the characteristics of living things or natural systems as inspiration for the design of human-made products or systems.
Nature (natural) – An object or system that has not been created by humans.
Sustainable – Describes an object or system that uses resources in a way that doesn’t deplete them or change them permanently. A sustainable process is one that can continue in a cyclical way because it doesn’t significantly alter the environment that allows the process to go on.

13. Design from Nature: Biomimicry
Extensions
Using the drawings and ideas they created, tell students to answer the following questions:
Is your solution sustainable? In what way?
What problems can you imagine might be created by your idea?
How practical is your idea? Could it be manufactured for a reasonable price using easily obtained materials?
Have students research a particular characteristic or adaptation of an animal to learn how that characteristic comes about. For example, a hummingbird’s super-fast wing movements or a whale’s ability to hold its breath under water for a long time. Then have students apply the characteristic they researched to address an issue in the human world.

14. Design from Nature: Biomimicry
Teaching tips
If you know your students, take the reins on pairing students with each other. Be mindful of students who seem to work together well, and those who distract each other. Try to pair students that have complementary personalities.
Circulate around the classroom as students are working and be sure to keep them on track, answer questions, and encourage students who are less assertive.
If a pair of students seems stuck on ideas, give them some hints or point out some features of an organism that they might give special consideration to.
Encourage students to think about their audience (other classmates) as they’re creating their poster sketches. If something is unclear to you on their poster, let them know and challenge them to make it clearer.

15. Design from Nature: Biomimicry
Takeaways:
Humans look for solutions to many of the same problems that nature has solved: Humans are organisms, and need to solve many of the same problems other organisms do: access to food and water, protection from the environment, communication with others of the species, etc.
Adaptations found in nature can inspire ideas for many engineered designs: The mosquito probe can inspire needles, the design of nests, dens, and hives can inspire architecture, and even the workings of ecosystems can provide examples for improvement in human systems.
Communicating your ideas to others is an important engineering skill: Being able to share your ideas in a clear and engaging way is an integral part of the engineering design process.

16. Design from Nature: Biomimicry
Resources and bibliography:
Biomimicry in Engineering
Biomimicry: Nature as Model, Measure, and Mentor
Biomimicry Examples
Biomimicry Resource Toolkit for K-12 educators:
Biomimicry for Education:

17. SHPE Jr. Chapter Engineering Competitions*
FIRST Robotics Competition:
FIRST Tech Challenge:
Google Science Fair:
Intel International Science and Engineering Fair:
MIT THINK scholars program:
National Youth Cyber Defense Competition:
Northrup Grumman High School Innovation Challenge: aspx
REAL world design challenge:
Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology:
TEAMS (Tests of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics and Science):
Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision Science Competition:
*Further information on the above Engineering Competitions, other competitions and resources are available online at under June 2015

18. SHPE Jr. Chapter Engineering Competitions Table
Contest
Format
Eligibility
Application timeline
Prize
MIT THINK Scholars Program
Students submit project proposals for any field of science, tech, or engineering. Finalists are funded to build out their projects.
Teams of 1-2 students enrolled in public, private or home school. Students must be U.S. residents.
Applications begin in fall thru the end of the year.
Scholarships of $500-$1000, plus $2000 to build project and mentorship from MIT students. Finalists get a paid trip to MIT.
FIRST Robotics Competition
Large-group teams raise funds, design a brand, and build a robot to compete against their competitors’ robots.
Teams of any size (average is 25) plus two adults.
Registration opens in May, first event is in Sept. Some grants are available for registration.
Scholarships to a variety of sponsoring educational organizations, ranging from $1,000 to full tuition. In addition, teams can register to compete for a variety of awards.
First Tech Competition
Students build a robot that competes against robots built by other teams.
Teams of 1-15 students in grades 7-12 plus two adult mentors.
Registration begins in May, design challenge in announced in Sept. Some grants are available for registration.
Scholarships to a variety of sponsoring educational organizations, ranging from $1,000 to $20,000.
Google science Fair
Science fair, submitted online. Finalists present at Google in CA.
Full-time and home- schooled students of any nationality (except for students in countries sanctioned by the U.S.) between the ages of 14 and 18.
Project submissions are due in May Exact date will be announced on the website.
Several different awards are given, some require separate submission. Scholarships and grants ranging from $ $50,000.
Intel international science and engineering fair
Students participate in affiliated science fairs and then must be selected for participation in the competition in May.
Students grades 9-12, teams of 1-3. Students must adhere to ethics rules outlined on the website, based on their research topic.
Students should participate in affiliated science fairs during the school year.
Cash and grant awards from $100 to $75,000

19. SHPE Jr. Chapter Engineering Competitions Table Cont’d
Contest
Format
Eligibility
Application timeline
Prize
National Youth Cyber Defense
Initial rounds online, finalists flown to Washington, D.C. Teams view images of code and must find and correct security vulnerabilities.
Teams of 2-6 with a coach and technical mentor(s)
Teams must be registered by 10/9/15, but practice rounds begin 4/2015
Scholarship funds. No specific amount cited on website.
Northrup Grumman High School Innovation Challenge
Design competition at Northrup Grumman facility in CA, FL, or MD
Teams of up to ten students representing a public or public charter school. Team members must be U.S. citizens for competitions at all but three locations.
Waivers and rosters due in Feb. Competition in April.
Teams receive funding to develop their projects. Top three teams receive funds for their school’s science department.
REAL world design challenge
Students are given access to engineering software and design a solution to a real- world problem.
Teams of 3-7 students, age , enrolled in public, private or home school in a participating U.S. state or territory, and one coach. (See website for list of states.)
Design challenge issued in Oct., Registration due in Dec., solutions due in March.
$50,000 scholarships to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology
Research project. Research reports only are judged in the first round. Higher rounds require poster, oral presentation, and Q&A session.
Individuals or teams of Students must be citizens or permanent residents and attending a high school in the U.S. or its territories.
Registration opens in May, closes in Sept.
Scholarships ranging from $1000 to $100,000.
TEAMS
2 rounds of questions: a round of 80 multiple-choice and a round of five tasks to complete as an essay. Best in state and best in nation. Events are held at academic institutions throughout the U.S.
Teams of 4-8 in grades 9/10 or 11/12.
Competition takes place in Feb/March. Registration will begin in Sept
Certificates of recognition.
Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision Science
Research, presentations, and web pages about a chosen research project relating to new technologies.
Teams of 2-4 students, all enrolled in public, private, or home schools.
Projects must be received Feb. Exact deadline will be announced with competition.
Savings bonds, camcorder, and other prizes, depending on standing.

20. Design from Nature: Biomimicry
Questions about the activity?
Contact Robin Marks Discovery Street Science

21. What type of leader are you?
Know Your Leadership Style
Module 8

22. Agenda Welcome and introductions Recap of learning styles
Understanding the four major leadership styles
Activity: What type of leader are you?
College Planning Checklist
Summary

23. Learning Styles Review
Last session, we reviewed three learning style types.
Auditory Learning Style
Visual Learning Style
Tactile (Kinesthetic) Learning Style
Did you use one of the learning style strategies to improve your studying effectiveness?
Share your experiences.

24. Leadership Qualities What are the qualities of an effective leader?
Who are famous leaders who you admire?
How do you define leadership?

25. Defining Leadership
John Gardner in his book On Leadership defines leadership as “the process of persuasion or example by which an individual induces a group to pursue objectives held by the leader or shared by the leader and his or her followers.”

26. Leadership Styles There are four main leadership styles:
Autocratic (Authoritarian) style
Delegative (Free Reign) style
Democratic (Participative) style
Situational style
Source: The University of Kansas, Community Tool Box (ctb.ku.edu)

27. Autocratic Style Does not seek input from others
Leader makes decisions
Group leader delegates activities to others
Leader can be decisive and make decisions quickly
Useful leadership style in stressful situations
Allows team to focus on specific tasks rather than complex decisions
Leader is usually perceived as bossy or demanding

28. Delegative Style Also known as laissez-fair leadership
Leaders are hands-off
Leave decision making to group
Research shows this style is least productive
Leaders provide tools or resources to group
Group members expected to solve their own problems
Helpful in situations where team has high expertise
Not good when team members struggle with meeting deadlines or managing projects

29. Democratic Style Group helps make all decisions
Everyone can participate, discussion is encouraged
Leader provide guidance and control
Known as one of the most productive styles
Creativity encouraged and rewarded
Leaders are trusted
Not a good style when there is urgency to act
Some group members may contribute even if they don’t have appropriate expertise

30. Situational Style Leadership style varies depending on the situation
Decisions are based on expertise of group
Leader must be able to make decisions by analyzing the situation
Team and leader are dynamic based on situation
Leader must be adaptable
Team may have difficulty adjusting to leadership styles
Leader can be perceived as haphazard and free-wheeling

31. Activity: Leadership Styles Quiz
Read each statement and circle the response that reflects your first reaction
There is no right or wrong answer
Using the scoring section at the bottom of the handout
Your highest number shows the leadership style that you identify with best
Source: The University of Kansas, Community Tool Box

32. College Planning Checklist
Seniors
Finalize your financial aid awards and submit any loan or aid documents
Finalize your housing arrangements; contact your roommate
Register for new student orientation
Prepare for your final exams
Order your final transcript and have it mailed it to your university
Freshmen to juniors
Do well on your final exams

33. Summary Leaders use many styles to manage groups
Engineers and scientists often lead research teams and work groups
There are four main leadership styles
Leaders can adjust their style based on the situation
Knowing your leadership style will be helpful in college when working on group projects and in student organizations

34. Questions and comments
Thank you for attending today.
For more information contact on this session contact:
Raul Hinojosa Jr., Hinojosa Consulting Services