Biomimetics is based on the belief that nature, at least at times, is a good engineer. Biomimesis is the scientific method of learning new principles and processes based on systematic study, observation and experimentation with live animals and organisms. This Freshman Advising Seminar on the topic is a way for freshmen to explore some of MIT's richness and learn more about what they may want to study in later years.

Students in this lesson will investigate the differences in avian beaks and how they are used to benefit their species and lifestyle. There is an introductory portion, a lab portion, a compare and contrast portion and conclusion/reflection. 

The purpose of this resource is to quantitatively evaluate the accuracy of a classification system. Students sort birds into three possible classes based on each bird's beak: carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores. Students compare their answers with a given set of validation data.

In this Nature video, learn about the extraordinary impact that birds have on the agriculture of a small Indian community.

Students tend to be fascinated by colors and patterns of organisms, and by thinking and learning about these and other adaptive strategies. Colors and patterns in nature are a great entry point to understand adaptations. This activity focuses on how organisms’ patterns and colors help them stand out or blend in with their environment, and how this helps them survive. Students observe the main colors in the landscape, then search for plastic animals hidden there, noticing which blend in with their surroundings and which stand out. Then, students discuss what made the animals blend in or stand out, construct explanations for how this could help the animals survive, and learn four categories for color and pattern adaptations: camouflage, mimicry, warning, and attraction. Students apply these concepts as they search for real organisms in the area, then discuss how patterns and coloration might help the organisms survive in their habitat.

Few people are aware of how crucial the sense of smell is to identifying foods, or the adaptive value of being able to identify a food as being familiar and therefore safe to eat. In this lesson and activity, students conduct an experiment to determine whether or not the sense of smell is important to being able to recognize foods by taste. The teacher leads a discussion that allows students to explore why it might be adaptive for humans and other animals to be able to identify nutritious versus noxious foods. This is followed by a demonstration in which a volunteer tastes and identifies a familiar food, and then attempts to taste and identify a different familiar food while holding his or her nose and closing his or her eyes. Then, the class develops a hypothesis and a means to obtain quantitative results for an experiment to determine whether students can identify foods when the sense of smell has been eliminated.

In this video segment from NatureScene, explore Cartwheel Bay, a wetland in South Carolina, and learn about the variety of carnivorous plants native to this unique landform.

This course provides a broad overview of issues related to climate change, with an emphasis on those aspects most relevant to computer scientists. Topics include climate science, climate models and simulations, decision-making under uncertainty, economics, mitigation strategies, adaptation strategies, geoengineering, policy-making, messaging, and politics.The course will culminate in a presentation of a research project which might include a paper, a blog, software etc.

In this video segment adapted from NOVA: Becoming Human, learn how the analysis of rock layers and ocean sediments supports the theory that rapid climate change may have jump-started human evolution two million years ago.

Has your attention recently been caught by news of coastal catastrophes such as hurricanes and tsunamis? Do you wonder why so many coastal communities in the world are vulnerable to flooding and other coastal hazards? Have you considered what coastal flood protections cities like Houston and Miami will need in the future to protect their residents? This course will provide a better understanding of these phenomena. We present a global perspective of coastal landscapes, the geologic processes responsible for their formation, and ways that society responds to hazards like sea level rise and catastrophic weather events. You will participate in active learning exercises such as analyzing real-world datasets and applying critical thinking to real-world societal problems while investigating a coastal community.

In small groups, students experiment and observe the similarities and differences between human-made objects and objects from nature. They compare the function and structure of hollow bones with drinking straws, bird beaks, tool pliers, bat wings and airplane wings. Observations are recorded in a compare & contrast chart, and then shared in a classroom discussion, along with follow up assessment activities such as journal writing and Venn diagrams.

Humans are social animals; social demands, both cooperative and competitive, structure our development, our brain and our mind. This course covers social development, social behaviour, social cognition and social neuroscience, in both human and non-human social animals. Topics include altruism, empathy, communication, theory of mind, aggression, power, groups, mating, and morality. Methods include evolutionary biology, neuroscience, cognitive science, social psychology and anthropology.

In this video segment adapted from NOVA, scientists search for carbonized remains of plants preserved in lava flows to find out how long it has taken rain forests on Hawaii to regenerate after a volcanic eruption.

This video segment from NOVA: A Desert Place describes the physical characteristics and organisms that define the desert biome.

This expository article for elementary students describes the dinosaurs that lived in polar regions as well as the adaptations that helped them survive in the dark and cold environment. Modified versions for younger grades are available.

Students learn about the amazing adaptations of the ptarmigan to the alpine tundra. They focus one adaptation, the feathered feet of the ptarmigan, and ask whether the feathers serve to only keep the feet warm or to also provide the bird with floatation capability. They create model ptarmigan feet, with and without feathers, and test the hypothesis on the function of the feathers. Ultimately, students make a claim about whether the feathers provide floatation and support this claim with their testing evidence.

This video segment from the Science and Technology Chat series focuses on dolphin pregnancy, birth, and care of the young, and features Atlantic bottlenose dolphins living in captivity at the Mirage Resort Dolphin Habitat.

In this article, the author identifies science content standards for grades K-5 from the national standards that are aligned with the third essential principle of the climate sciences--life on Earth depends on, is shaped by, and affects climate. In addition she reviews misconceptions commonly held by children about adaptations and natural selection. The free, online magazine Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle is structured around the seven essential principles of the climate sciences and explores a different principle each issue.

In this online activity, learners discover how random variation influences biological evolution. Biological evolution is often thought of as a process by which adaptation is generated through selection.Œć While it is recognized that random variation underlies the process, emphasis is usually placed on selection and resulting adaptation, leaving a sense that it is selection that drives evolution.Œć This simulation highlights the creative role of random variation, offering a somewhat different perspective: that of evolution as open-ended exploration driven by randomness and constrained by selection, with adaptation as a dynamic, transient consequence rather than an objective.

Anthropology is the study of humanity, in all its biological and cultural aspects, past and present. It is a four-field discipline comprised of biological anthropology, cultural anthropology, archaeology, and linguistic anthropology. The focus of this book is biological anthropology, which explores who we are from biological, evolutionary, and adaptive perspectives.