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Hidden Treasures: Discovering the Design Potential of Natural History Collections

DOI:10.1080/14606925.2019.1595009
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Michelle Fehler at Arizona State University
Michelle Fehler
Clint Penick at North Carolina State University
Clint Penick
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Biomimicry is a practice that seeks to translate nature’s strategies into sustainable solutions. The emerging discipline has the potential to become a leading approach for sustainable design. When it comes to drawing inspiration from nature, nothing beats an up-close study of real-life plants and animals. While metropolitan regions may be far from wildlife preserves and natural habitats, they still offer tremendous troves of biodiversity: the neatly organized collections of natural history museums. These collections contain organisms ranging from insects and birds to plants and reptiles, bringing biological inspiration from around the world to the fingertips of designers. This workshop, offered at the D'Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum, introduced participants to the hidden design possibilities of natural history museums. Participants engaged in guided activities that helped them derive design inspiration from nature.
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The Design Journal
An International Journal for All Aspects of Design
ISSN: 1460-6925 (Print) 1756-3062 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rfdj20
Hidden Treasures. Discovering the Design
Potential of Natural History Collections
Michelle Fehler & Clint Penick
To cite this article: Michelle Fehler & Clint Penick (2019) Hidden Treasures. Discovering the
Design Potential of Natural History Collections, The Design Journal, 22:sup1, 2189-2195, DOI:
10.1080/14606925.2019.1595009
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/14606925.2019.1595009
Published online: 31 May 2019.
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Hidden Treasures. Discovering the Design
Potential of Natural History Collections
Michelle Fehlera*, Clint Penickb
aThe Design School, Arizona State University
bThe Biomimicry Center, Arizona State University
*Corresponding author email: mfehler@asu.edu
Abstract: Biomimicry is a practice that seeks to translate nature’s strategies into
sustainable solutions. The emerging discipline has the potential to become a leading
approach for sustainable design. When it comes to drawing inspiration from nature,
nothing beats an up-close study of real-life plants and animals. While metropolitan regions
may be far from wildlife preserves and natural habitats, they still offer tremendous troves
of biodiversity: the neatly organized collections of natural history museums. These
collections contain organisms ranging from insects and birds to plants and reptiles, bringing
biological inspiration from around the world to the fingertips of designers. This workshop,
offered at the D'Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum, will introduce participants to the hidden
design possibilities of natural history museums. Participants will engage in guided activities
that help them derive design inspiration from nature.
Keywords: Natural History Collections, Biomimicry Thinking, Life-centered
Design, Biology
1. Context of Workshop
Nature has been developing and testing adaptations for thriving communities over the past 3.95
billion years (Baumeister, Tocke, Dwyer, Ritter, & Benyus, 2013; Tashiro et al., 2017). Living
organisms are inherently efficient with materials and energy, which is key to sustainability. Taking
inspiration from nature, biomimicry is a design practice that seeks to translate nature’s strategies
into human design solutions (Benyus, 2002) and has great potential to become a leading approach
for sustainable design (Fayemi, Wanieck, Zollfrank, Maranzana & Aoussat, 2017). Solutions can be
found at multiple levels, from the forms of organisms to the processes and systems of nature
(Fecheyr-lippens, 2017). Facing enormous social and climatic challenges, designers can tap into this
vast database of inspiration for life-friendly and ethical solutions. Various methodologies to learn
from nature’s genius have been developed (Fayemi et al., 2017), one of which is the Biomimicry
Thinking framework by the consulting firm Biomimicry 3.8 (Baumeister et al., 2013).
MICHELLE FEHLER, CLINT PENICK
2190
This framework divides the process into four components:
•Scoping: frame the design problem and set the appropriate context.
•Discovering: identify organisms that face similar challenges and abstract bio-inspired
design principles.
•Creating: design based on the abstracted design principles from identified organisms.
•Evaluating: apply Life’s Principles (Baumeister et al., 2013) to evaluate the suitability
and sustainability of the proposed design.
For designers, one of the most difficult steps in this process is the Discovering phase, which requires
designers to locate organisms that can be used as models for design solutions (Rowland, 2017;
Kennedy & Niewiarowski, 2018). Designers often live in urban areas with little access to wild lands
that hold the bulk of the world’s biodiversity (Pimm et al., 2014). For designers living in urban areas,
there is another treasure trove of biodiversity that is little used by those outside specialized fields in
taxonomy: museum of natural history collections. These collections contain organisms from across
the globe, and they compose a vast database of potential solutions for sustainable innovation. Here
we propose a hands-on, 90-minute workshop held at the D’Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum that
attempts to connect designers with natural history collections. In this workshop, we will explore how
designers can tap into nature through museum collections as inspiration for functional design.
2. Planned Activities and Expected Outcomes
The goal of this workshop is to introduce designers to a functional approach to learning from natural
objects and to create an awareness of the potential of natural history artifacts in museum collections
to inspire sustainable design solutions. To meet this goal, participants will get up-close and personal
with specimens that they are unlikely to have ever seen or encountered before.
The workshop will start with a short introduction to what Biomimicry is and how it can be a helpful
tool for sustainable design. The various phases of the Biomimicry thinking methodology are
presented, specifically the “function bridge,” which is the translation from biology to design. To
explore this approach, participants will get the opportunity to engage hands-on with natural artifacts
to discover how nature solves problems and to compare them with their needs as designers.
Participants will learn to identify functions performed by organisms in the collection and develop
ways that the organisms can inspire sustainable solutions to human design challenges by interacting
with and learning from the artifacts in the museum.
Hidden Treasures: Discovering the Design Potential of Natural History Collections
2191
Figure 1. Designers from Visual Communication Design and Architecture learn by discovering functional strategies of natural
artifacts. Photo©Fehler (2018).
MICHELLE FEHLER, CLINT PENICK
2192
Figure 2. Backroom of a major natural history museum that is under-utilized and rarely seen by the public. Photo©Penick
(2016).
Hidden Treasures: Discovering the Design Potential of Natural History Collections
2193
Figure 3. Seeing butterflies up close allows for a better understanding of insects and their strategies. In this particular case,
the structural color and how it reflects light could be explored. Photo credit@Fehler (2016).
MICHELLE FEHLER, CLINT PENICK
2194
3. Intended Audience
This workshop welcomes participants from a diverse background. Biomimicry supports a functional
approach, so any problem solver can benefit from this workshop. No prior knowledge of biology or
biomimicry is required to attend.
12–20 participants would be ideal for this workshop and time frame.
4. Length of Workshop
The workshop will include an introduction to the Biomimicry Thinking design process (20 min), a
hands-on multi-sensory exploration (20 min), a problem-focused activity (30 min), and a recap and
discussion (20 min).
5. Space and Equipment Required
This workshop will be held at the D’Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum located just a short 4 min walk from the
conference venue. Matthew Jarron, the museum curator is on board and excited to host us. Participants are
encouraged to bring their notebooks, sketching materials, as well as a curious mind. Participants will be
provided a participant Information sheet and also any necessary hand-outs for the workshop activities.
6. Potential Outputs
The workshop will reveal questions about the method of extracting functional knowledge from
natural artifacts. These questions will prompt future research to develop tools and resources that
can help designers engage in a life-friendly approach to solutions.
Additionally, the use of natural history collections as a source of design inspiration could play an
important role in preserving the “biodiversity” of natural history collections themselves. Over the
past decades, natural history collections and museums are increasingly struggling to stay open and
are at risk of being moved or destroyed (Conniff, 2016). One way to ensure their survival is to expand
on the current offerings they provide for society. In the words of Hagedorn et al. (2018, p. 2): “As
global biodiversity declines, the value of biological collections increases.". If designers can find
benefits from working with natural collections, perhaps they can help maintain and grow these
important historical treasures that hold the secrets of life for the future.
After the conference, a report of around 500 words documenting the outcomes of the workshop will
be written and permission given to EAD to publish it on their website.
References
Baumeister, D., Tocke, R., Dwyer, J., Ritter, S., & Benyus, J. (2013). Biomimicry resource handbook : A
seed bank of best practices (First public printing, February 2013.. ed.). Missoula, Montana:
Biomimicry 3.8.
Benyus, J. (2002). Biomimicry : Innovation inspired by nature. New York: Perennial.
Conniff, R. (2016). Natural History, Endangered. The New York Times, p. 4.
Fayemi, P., Wanieck, K., Zollfrank, C., Maranzana, N., & Aoussat, A. (2017). Biomimetics: Process,
tools and practice. Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, 12(1), 20.
Fecheyr-Lippens, D. (2017). Implementing Biomimicry Thinking from fundamental R&D to creating
nature-aligned organizations (Doctoral dissertation, University of Akron).
Hidden Treasures: Discovering the Design Potential of Natural History Collections
2195
Hagedorn, M., Daly, J., Carter, V., Cole, K., Jaafar, Z., Lager, C., & Parenti, L. (2018). Cryopreservation
of Fish Spermatogonial Cells: The Future of Natural History Collections. Scientific Reports, 8(1),
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Kennedy, E. & Niewiarowski, P. (2018). Biomimicry: Do Frames of Inquiry Support Search and
Identification of Biological Models? Designs, 2(3), 27.
Papanek, V. (1984). Design for the real world : Human ecology and social change (2nd ed., completely
rev.. ed.). Chicago, Ill.: Academy Chicago.
Pimm, S. L., Jenkins, C. N., Abell, R., Brooks, T. M., Gittleman, J. L., Joppa, L. N., ... & Sexton, J. O.
(2014). The biodiversity of species and their rates of extinction, distribution, and protection.
Science, 344(6187), 1246752.
Rowland, R. (2017). Biomimicry step-by-step. Bioinspired, Biomimetic and Nanobiomaterials, 6(2),
102-112.
Tashiro, T., Ishida, A., Hori, M., Igisu, M., Koike, M., Méjean, P.,Takahata, N., Sano, Y. Yuji & Komiya,
T. (2017). Early trace of life from 3.95 Ga sedimentary rocks in Labrador, Canada. Nature, 549, 516.
About the Authors:
Michelle Fehler Clinical Assistant Professor at the Design School at ASU teaching Visual
Communication Design and Biomimicry. Research focus is in life-centered design
approaches. She holds an MSD in Design, an MS in Biomimicry and is a certified
Biomimicry professional.
Clint Penick PhD is an Assistant Research Professor in the Biomimicry Center at ASU. His
research focuses on the wildlife of urban habitats and how social insects can serve as
inspiration for design and engineering applications.
Acknowledgements: We would like to thank Adelheid Fischer for her contributions to this
workshop, as well as acknowledge support from the Biomimicry Center at ASU and the
Design School.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication.
Biomimicry: Do Frames of Inquiry Support Search and Identification of Biological Models?
Article
Full-text available
  • Jul 2018
A crucial step in the biomimicry process is the search and identification of biological models relevant to the design challenge. Anecdotal observations from case studies in authentic business contexts, as well as emerging literature on biomimicry methods, suggest that tools, which focus the search for biological models, could help research and development (R&D) professionals execute this step more effectively. We prototyped one such tool, a set of four frames of inquiry, to test whether it helped R&D professionals identify a greater quantity and variety of biological models. The tool we prototyped did not significantly improve biological model identification; however, its use was associated with a trend of higher quantity and variety of biological models. Our study, as well as previous work, both empirical and theoretical, suggests that tools, like ours, could improve the search and identification of biological models. We encourage further tests using larger samples sizes and/or conditions that maximize potential effect sizes.
View
Cryopreservation of Fish Spermatogonial Cells: The Future of Natural History Collections
Article
Full-text available
  • Apr 2018
As global biodiversity declines, the value of biological collections increases. Cryopreserved diploid spermatogonial cells meet two goals: to yield high-quality molecular sequence data; and to regenerate new individuals, hence potentially countering species extinction. Cryopreserved spermatogonial cells that allow for such mitigative measures are not currently in natural history museum collections because there are no standard protocols to collect them. Vertebrate specimens, especially fishes, are traditionally formalin-fixed and alcohol-preserved which makes them ideal for morphological studies and as museum vouchers, but inadequate for molecular sequence data. Molecular studies of fishes routinely use tissues preserved in ethanol; yet tissues preserved in this way may yield degraded sequences over time. As an alternative to tissue fixation methods, we assessed and compared previously published cryopreservation methods by gating and counting fish testicular cells with flow cytometry to identify presumptive spermatogonia A-type cells. Here we describe a protocol to cryopreserve tissues that yields a high percentage of viable spermatogonial cells from the testes of Asterropteryx semipunctata, a marine goby. Material cryopreserved using this protocol represents the first frozen and post-thaw viable spermatogonial cells of fishes archived in a natural history museum to provide better quality material for re-derivation of species and DNA preservation and analysis.
View
Early trace of life from 3.95 Ga sedimentary rocks in Labrador, Canada
Article
Full-text available
The vestiges of life in Eoarchean rocks have the potential to elucidate the origin of life. However, gathering evidence from many terrains is not always possible1,2,3, and biogenic graphite has thus far been found only in the 3.7–3.8 Ga (gigayears ago) Isua supracrustal belt4,5,6,7. Here we present the total organic carbon contents and carbon isotope values of graphite (δ¹³Corg) and carbonate (δ¹³Ccarb) in the oldest metasedimentary rocks from northern Labrador8,9. Some pelitic rocks have low δ¹³Corg values of −28.2, comparable to the lowest value in younger rocks. The consistency between crystallization temperatures of the graphite and metamorphic temperature of the host rocks establishes that the graphite does not originate from later contamination. A clear correlation between the δ¹³Corg values and metamorphic grade indicates that variations in the δ¹³Corg values are due to metamorphism, and that the pre-metamorphic value was lower than the minimum value. We concluded that the large fractionation between the δ¹³Ccarb and δ¹³Corg values, up to 25‰, indicates the oldest evidence of organisms greater than 3.95 Ga. The discovery of the biogenic graphite enables geochemical study of the biogenic materials themselves, and will provide insight into early life not only on Earth but also on other planets.
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The biodiversity of species and their rates of extinction, distribution, and protection
Article
Full-text available
  • May 2014
Background A principal function of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) is to “perform regular and timely assessments of knowledge on biodiversity.” In December 2013, its second plenary session approved a program to begin a global assessment in 2015. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and five other biodiversity-related conventions have adopted IPBES as their science-policy interface, so these assessments will be important in evaluating progress toward the CBD’s Aichi Targets of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020. As a contribution toward such assessment, we review the biodiversity of eukaryote species and their extinction rates, distributions, and protection. We document what we know, how it likely differs from what we do not, and how these differences affect biodiversity statistics. Interestingly, several targets explicitly mention “known species”—a strong, if implicit, statement of incomplete knowledge. We start by asking how many species are known and how many remain undescribed. We then consider by how much human actions inflate extinction rates. Much depends on where species are, because different biomes contain different numbers of species of different susceptibilities. Biomes also suffer different levels of damage and have unequal levels of protection. How extinction rates will change depends on how and where threats expand and whether greater protection counters them. Advances Recent studies have clarified where the most vulnerable species live, where and how humanity changes the planet, and how this drives extinctions. These data are increasingly accessible, bringing greater transparency to science and governance. Taxonomic catalogs of plants, terrestrial vertebrates, freshwater fish, and some marine taxa are sufficient to assess their status and the limitations of our knowledge. Most species are undescribed, however. The species we know best have large geographical ranges and are often common within them. Most known species have small ranges, however, and such species are typically newer discoveries. The numbers of known species with very small ranges are increasing quickly, even in well-known taxa. They are geographically concentrated and are disproportionately likely to be threatened or already extinct. We expect unknown species to share these characteristics. Current rates of extinction are about 1000 times the background rate of extinction. These are higher than previously estimated and likely still underestimated. Future rates will depend on many factors and are poised to increase. Finally, although there has been rapid progress in developing protected areas, such efforts are not ecologically representative, nor do they optimally protect biodiversity. Outlook Progress on assessing biodiversity will emerge from continued expansion of the many recently created online databases, combining them with new global data sources on changing land and ocean use and with increasingly crowdsourced data on species’ distributions. Examples of practical conservation that follow from using combined data in Colombia and Brazil can be found at www.savingspecies.org and www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3zjeJW2NVk .
View
Biomimetics: Process, tools and practice
Article
Biomimetics applies principles and strategies abstracted from biological systems to engineering and technological design. With a huge potential for innovation, biomimetics could evolve into a key process in businesses. Yet challenges remain within the process of biomimetics, especially from the perspective of potential users. We work to clarify the understanding of the process of biomimetics. Therefore, we briefly summarize the terminology of biomimetics and bioinspiration. The implementation of biomimetics requires a stated process. Therefore, we present a model of the problem-driven process of biomimetics that can be used for problem-solving activity. The process of biomimetics can be facilitated by existing tools and creative methods. We mapped a set of tools to the biomimetic process model and set up assessment sheets to evaluate the theoretical and practical value of these tools. We analyzed the tools in interdisciplinary research workshops and present the characteristics of the tools. We also present the attempt of a utility tree which, once finalized, could be used to guide users through the process by choosing appropriate tools respective to their own expertize. The aim of this paper is to foster the dialogue and facilitate a closer collaboration within the field of biomimetics.
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Biomimicry Step by Step
Article
  • Jan 2017
The creativity found in nature is seemingly boundless. Designs and strategies that species have developed for survival emerged through aeons of evolution and have therefore been refined for high functionality within the given context. These survival strategies employed by single organisms and applied to whole ecosystems can be considered design ingenuity and are worth investigating as they represent an extensive pool of potential solutions to human problems. Many viable biologically inspired designs (BIDs) have already been emulated from nature and biomimicry offers one of the possible processes for mimicking nature’s ingenuity and distinguishes itself from other bioinspired forms of innovation in two ways: it has a firm sustainability mandate that is embedded directly in the design process and it is applied to all kinds of disciplines beyond the usual technology focus of BID. The four phases of the biomimicry thinking design process are described, step-by-step, in this perspective, from the position of teaching it to developers of products and services, processes, structures and systems that are designed for sustainable futures. The perspective ends with a list of challenges observed while teaching the process to designers, engineers and managers.
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Biomimicry resource handbook : A seed bank of best practices (First public printing
  • Feb 2013
  • D Baumeister
  • R Tocke
  • J Dwyer
  • S Ritter
  • J Benyus
Baumeister, D., Tocke, R., Dwyer, J., Ritter, S., & Benyus, J. (2013). Biomimicry resource handbook : A seed bank of best practices (First public printing, February 2013.. ed.). Missoula, Montana: Biomimicry 3.8.
Natural History, Endangered. The New York Times
  • Jan 2016
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  • R Conniff
Conniff, R. (2016). Natural History, Endangered. The New York Times, p. 4.