Abstract

This activity provides opportunities for middle school students to design bio-inspired, eco-friendly vehicles. Twenty-four 8th grade students (12 girls, 12 boys) engaged in the activity which was implemented in four class periods, 40 minutes each, in an elective Environmental Education course. During the activity, students engaged in engineering design process and they integrated eco-friendly systems that can be used to solve the problem of air pollution. In this process, the students researched and observed living organisms and made their designs inspired by the body and movement systems of grasshoppers, ants, spiders and red Japanese beetles, and added eco-friendly elements (such as solar panels, exhaust filtering systems, hybrid batteries, electric motors) to their prototype vehicles. Working as “engineers”, students had the opportunity to gain knowledge and engage in engineering design practices. The activity helped students explore science concepts such as biomimicry, air pollution, and structural features of different living organisms. This study suggests the use of biomimicry design activities in STEM classrooms.

摘要

这项活动为中学生提供了设计仿生环保车辆的机会。24 名 8 年级学生（12 名女生，12 名男生）参与了这项活动，该活动分四节课进行，每节课 40 分钟，是一门选修的环境教育课程。在活动中，学生们参与了工程设计过程，他们集成了可用于解决空气污染问题的环保系统。在这个过程中，学生们研究观察生物，以蚱蜢、蚂蚁、蜘蛛和红甲虫的身体和运动系统为设计灵感，并加入了环保元素（如太阳能电池板、排气过滤系统、混合动力系统）。电池、电动机）到他们的原型车。作为“工程师”工作，学生有机会获得知识并参与工程设计实践。该活动帮助学生探索科学概念，例如仿生学、空气污染和不同生物体的结构特征。本研究建议在 STEM 课堂中使用仿生设计活动。