{"id":84444,"date":"2019-03-07T11:11:25","date_gmt":"2019-03-07T09:11:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.technion.ac.il\/blog\/biomimicry-at-the-safari\/"},"modified":"2019-03-07T11:11:25","modified_gmt":"2019-03-07T09:11:25","slug":"biomimicry-at-the-safari","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.technion.ac.il\/en\/blog\/biomimicry-at-the-safari\/","title":{"rendered":"Biomimicry at the Safari"},"content":{"rendered":"

Give the Hippopotamus Some Respect<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Nature is always a profound inspiration, and the field of biomimicry \u2013 developing products inspired by nature \u2013 has now been officially established at the Ramat Gan Safari Zoo by doctoral student Michal Topaz of the Technion\u2019s Faculty of Education in Science and Technology.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sewing thread for surgical sutures inspired by porcupine spines; air conditioning systems based on the structure of termite colonies; and insect repellants and bacterial disinfectants based on hippopotamus sweat \u2013 all these are the products of bio-inspiration. On display at the Safari Zoo in Ramat Gan, they are just examples of the ingenuity of doctoral student Michal Topaz, who is part of the environmental education research group led by Prof. Tali Tal of the Faculty of Education in Science and Technology.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the past 15 years, Topaz has worked in the Ramat Gan Safari\u2019s education department. After completing her master\u2019s degree in sociology and anthropology at Tel Aviv University, former Safari director Yehuda Bar told her about a new field of research called biomimicry. \u201cGo and read about it,\u201d he suggested, \u201cand maybe we\u2019ll do something with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Topaz accepted the challenge and plunged into what she describes as a whole world of thinking that combines innovation, entrepreneurship and nature conservation. \u201cBiomimicry is an interdisciplinary field that regards nature as a boundless source for applicable ideas and developments and solutions for existing human problems. Instead of asking how we can use nature, we ask what we can learn from it,\u201d says Topaz.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe imitate nature – and are inspired by its mechanisms, structures, processes, and biological and ecological principles – while deeply admiring nature and understanding that we have a lot to learn. This thinking provides significant additional justification for preserving nature,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n

Based on extensive and in-depth learning, Topaz established the field of education for biomimicry at the Safari, making it into the only zoo in Europe to be engaged with the science of biomimicry. With the accumulating amount of knowledge and experience gained from training others, Topaz began her doctoral research on zoo-based adult science education in this field.<\/p>\n

Activities such as courses, seminars, and workshops are offered in the Safari, just across from the animal courtyards. Through guided observations, creating games to enrich the animals\u2019 environments and unmediated encounters with animals, participants learn about wildlife, apply critical and creative thinking and gain experience in biomimicry-inspired thinking in the zoo.<\/p>\n

As one of the participants said: \u201cIt\u2019s easier to be inspired by the giraffe\u2019s tongue after it licks you \u2013 when you feel the roughness of its tongue \u2013 and by an elephant\u2019s trunk after you plan, build and carry out a game meant for it to play using its trunk. We gain from learning from close up. This is experiential, near and exciting learning that also contributes to enriching the animals\u2019 lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

The field of education of biomimicry brings a new kind of audienceto the zoo \u2013 visitors who usually don\u2019t come to the Safari such as professionals from a variety of fields including medicine and aeronautics \u2013 and, of course, teens.<\/p>\n

For example, what can wildlife tell is about\u00a0aeronautics? An engineer came looking for ways to minimize the weight of the wings of an aircraft. Biomedical engineers come, seeking to learn about the structure of honeycombs in beehives. Turtle shell armor can be an inspiration to develop better stents for heart patients.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Based on extensive and in-depth learning, Topaz established the field of education for biomimicry at the Safari and turned it into the only zoo in Europe that deals with biomimicry. With the accumulated knowledge, and the additional experience she gained in the training, Topaz began her doctoral research on adult science education in zoos in this field.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe present a variety of technologies in various fields, such as surgical sutures by the quills of porcupines (for medical uses); the structure of a shopping mall that uses air conditioning based on the piles of earth of termites (architecture); and, of course, the robotic snake developed in the Technion lab of mechanical engineering led by Prof. Alon Wolf for medical use and search and rescue missions. We present these biomimicry developments in the context of science in everyday life. For example, a stick to help a blind person that is inspired by the sonar of bats, or an antibacterial insect repellant inspired by hippo sweat. Even Velcro, which we all use to attach and detach things easily, is based on biomimicry from the thorns of plants.\u201d<\/p>\n

Topaz notes that biomimicry is also used “to bring man closer to nature and especially to living creatures.\u201d<\/p>\n

In her research, Topaz examines the results of biomimicry activities in the zoo. \u201cWhat each participant will take from the biomimicry course depends on his background and interests. A physician, an architect, an entrepreneur and a physiotherapist \u2013 each will take away something else. Some with focus on scientific or technological issues; others will learn from the environmental aspects behind the developments; while others would be interested in social issues connected to both topics.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is much importance in the personal history of the participants, their curiosity and interests and the know-how they bring with them. Like other extracurricular\u00a0studies in Prof. Tal\u2019s group, the research examines different aspects of learning among adults in unique educational conditions, which adds to a better understanding of the characteristics of science learning in an informal environment. This subject that has been studied very little around the world. In addition, biomimicry education programs \u2013 especially in the informal environment of the zoo \u2013 offer an innovative approach to environmental education.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Give the Hippopotamus Some Respect Nature is always a profound inspiration, and the field of biomimicry \u2013 developing products inspired by nature \u2013 has now been officially established at the Ramat Gan Safari Zoo by doctoral student Michal Topaz of the Technion\u2019s Faculty of Education in Science and Technology. Sewing thread for surgical sutures inspired… Continue Reading Biomimicry at the Safari<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBiomimicry at the Safari - \u05d4\u05d8\u05db\u05e0\u05d9\u05d5\u05df-\u05de\u05db\u05d5\u05df \u05d8\u05db\u05e0\u05d5\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d9 \u05dc\u05d9\u05e9\u05e8\u05d0\u05dc<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.technion.ac.il\/en\/blog\/biomimicry-at-the-safari\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Biomimicry at the Safari - \u05d4\u05d8\u05db\u05e0\u05d9\u05d5\u05df-\u05de\u05db\u05d5\u05df \u05d8\u05db\u05e0\u05d5\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d9 \u05dc\u05d9\u05e9\u05e8\u05d0\u05dc\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Give the Hippopotamus Some Respect Nature is always a profound inspiration, and the field of biomimicry \u2013 developing products inspired by nature \u2013 has now been officially established at the Ramat Gan Safari Zoo by doctoral student Michal Topaz of the Technion\u2019s Faculty of Education in Science and Technology. 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