Fourth-grade students in The Hive have been learning about how the internal and external structures of plants and animals function to support their survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction. We took the topic a step further and asked students to explore its meaning and relevancy as it pertains to humans and the world around them.
Learning about the basic structures, functions, and adaptations of the human body (like opposable thumbs, skin, and the heart for example) was the perfect introduction to this topic. Students learned about the functions of these structures and how they support our growth and survival. Ask them about their experience with our heart rate lab, complete with stethoscopes!
Students also participated in a honeybee exploratory lab to learn more about the structures of honeybees and how they function to support survival, growth, and reproduction. There was so much to see and understand about the external structures of these important organisms. This activity lent itself perfectly to building a basic foundation of knowledge about the importance of bees in our ecosystem and how the pollination process is an essential part of plant reproduction.
The relevancy of this topic was apparent during our next exploration - a deep dive into biomimicry (using the structure, systems, and elements that exist in nature, for the purpose of solving complex human problems). Students took some time investigating the construction of basic garden bird nests. They studied the characteristics and use of these types of nests and the various materials birds use to build them. Ultimately, students determined that they were sturdy but flexible, camouflaged to hide from predators, bowl-shaped to hold the eggs and babies safely in the nest, and shock-absorbing - after all, those eggs need a soft place to land. So, what can we learn from bird nests? Probably more than you thought! We offered students an opportunity to practice the design engineering-build process by presenting them with a real-world problem that our friends at 'Space X and NASA' needed help solving. Enter "Hive-X".
Students learned about the Orion space capsule mission and the need for space engineers to design a landing pad that future shuttle explorations could land on upon their return (rather than landing in the ocean). They also learned that though Space X has tested several landing pad prototypes over the last year, the design is still evolving and improvements are necessary. Our Hive-X space engineers put their knowledge and understanding of biomimicry to the test as they used the design of bird nests as the inspiration for their plans and prototypes. Design-build teams utilized a variety of materials, constraints, and the engineering design-build process to construct their landing pads. Their small-scale, fully functional prototypes were put to the test during a Hive-X Shuttle Landing Test Experiment (the shuttle being an egg). Some landings were met with success, while others were met with opportunities to improve. The experience reminded us that failure always offers us an opportunity to grow and when we take advantage of those moments and look at a problem differently, are patient with ourselves, and lean into the challenge, we can do anything.
This week's guest bloggers reflect on our biomimicry engineering design-build challenge experience. Enjoy.
If I had more time to work on my landing pad, I would have worked on the structural part. For example, there were a lot of cotton balls, but I should have added other materials, like yarn or fabric and so on. This would have improved my prototype. - @Solo1234
I used my knowledge of bird nests in two ways when designing my landing pad. One way was that I put edges around it. Bird nests have a bowl-shape so that their eggs don't fall out so I wanted my landing pad to have the same. Another thing that I did was make it very soft. I used cotton, string, fabric and other soft materials to make it cushioned. - @Shrek_Dog
Biomimicry is important because it helps us as humans. We get inspiration from nature to help solve problems. Without biomimicry, airplanes might not exist. Biomimicry is truly important. - @NuggetDiddy
I used my knowledge of bird nest construction to build my landing pad. I built up layers of repeated soft materials and my partner built a box so the capsule wouldn't fall off the landing platform. Elon Musk: take notes. - @GuyAlphaChad
I used my knowledge of bird nest construction to create my landing pad by using cotton and lots of cushioning materials. When we learned about bird nest construction, we learned that birds often use fuzzy materials to build a nest so the eggs don't crack, so the cotton resembled fuzz to me. I added a ton of it and the capsule survived! - @BabyGronkForReal
If I had more time, I would have changed a few things about my landing pad design. First, my landing pad was too small and the capsule bounced out of the pad. It also should have had sides so that the capsule wouldn't bounce out. I also would have put more cushiony fabric under it because ours was a little too hard. A little more cushion would have done the trick. - @ILoveCheer123
Biomimicry is important because nature has already figured out how to live efficiently. We humans are just trying to catch up to nature. For example, some reptile animals can stick to pretty much anything because some of them have sticky pads on their feet. Humans created suction cups to mimic their sticky feet. - @Pookie2.0
If I had more time to design my landing pad, I would have added walls. Also, I would have added more cotton and packing peanuts to make it softer. I would also have added layers so that the capsule didn't break through the walls. - @SigmaAlphaRizzler
Biomimicry is important because when there is a human problem that needs solving, we can sometimes use biomimicry to help solve it. For example, tongs were inspired by a bird's ability to pick up many things at once. - @Preppy_Shrek3572
I used my knowledge of how bird nests are constructed when making my landing pad. I not only made my platform padded, but I also made walls. Bird nests are rounded and have sides so the eggs don't fall out, so I added walls to my landing pad so that the capsule wouldn't fall out. -@Ritz159
Biomimicry is important because if we didn't use it, we wouldn't have simple things like tongs (which were inspired by bird beaks) or flashlights that were inspired by fireflies. We wouldn't have a lot of things! - @Dip-n-Dots
Biomimicry is important because it helps us design things to fix problems. For example, lights were probably inspired by the sun or fire. Without lights, it would be super dark at night. If we didn't have biomimicry, we wouldn't have lots of the inventions we have. - @MustardMan1
No comments:
Post a Comment