Fly Like a Goose and Build Like a Bee: Explore Nature through Biomimicry!
Presenters: Jennifer Robinson, Director of Education, Montana Natural History Center
This STEM-focused professional learning session introduces educational professionals to the concept of biomimicry, aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards for first grade. Participants will explore how nature inspires human innovation and experience hands-on activities they can implement in afterschool and public school settings. The session will model a first-grade–level engineering challenge in which learners explore examples of biomimicry in nature, connect human inventions to this natural phenomena, and design and model a first-grade–level engineering challenge in which test marker boxes of different shapes to determine which design holds the most markers. Participants will also learn about the Montana Natural History Center, its education programs, and upcoming opportunities in 2026.