Pre-Class Study Materials for the Home School Biomimicry Science Fair
Biomimicry Science Fair Pre-Class Materials
Next week will begin the first class of our Biomimicry science fair. Please remember that parents will be required to attend the SECOND class on February 5th or 6th about choosing a project topic. You are also welcome to sit in on the first class (January 22nd or 23d) if you wish to get a clearer understanding of the field of biomimicry and how it pertains to the research project the students will be conducting.
PLEASE REMEMBER TO ARRIVE ON TIME TO CLASS. LATE ARRIVALS ARE DISRUPTIVE AND IN SOME CASES MAY CAUSE UNSAFE CONDITIONS WHEN WE’RE WORKING WITH LABORATORY MATERIALS.
Vocabulary:
- Biomimicry
- Scientific method
- Hypothesis
- Experiment
- Variable
- Control
- Experimental design
- Replication
- Observation
- Data
- Conclusion
For All Ages (5-12):
http://www.ted.com/talks/janine_benyus_biomimicry_in_action.html Start with this (11 min.) video from the founder of the Biomimicry Institute.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXA4ox1rY80 Here’s a documentary by the BBC and David Attenborough all about how people are mimicking the climbing powers of Geckos.
http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/scientific-inquiry/scientific-methods.htm visit the Scholastic page to learn about the process of the scientific method. You can also take their quiz about the scientific method here: http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/scientific-inquiry/scientific-methods.htm (best for 8-12 yr. old kids)
For ages 8-12 yrs.
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/when-animals-inspire-inventions-59895396/ this is a nice short article, from the Smithsonian, about biomimicry.
http://www.asknature.org/ Visit the “Ask Nature” portal and type in a problem that you might want to solve, such as “cooling a house” or “climbing” or even something like “keeping clean.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyFi6BQfDik a short catchy video parody of Gangnam style about the scientific method.
http://66.39.52.159/ddavis/PSif0001.bmp This is a bmp file (image) so you’ll have to print it directly (this is the home page: http://66.39.52.159/ddavis/PSif0001.bmp). Please have students complete this worksheet and matching before class.
For 5-7 yrs.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4406699/Scientific%20Method%20Cards%20GW.pdf These are printable cards that students can use to lay out the steps of the scientific method.
Optional:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neeP9v_x3os this is the first in a series of 4 videos (about 15 minutes each) called Nature Tech: the Materials World (BBC), which explores the materials that nature is made out of and how humans are studying it.
For Parents (just because it’s funny)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2MhMsLn9B0 Monty Python scientific method video (5 min)
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