DAY ONE
1. Introduction to Habitats (10 minutes
- Review)
Talk to students about the
habitats of various animals that live around your school.
Then think about animals living in different
places around the world. A habitat is an ecological or
environmental area that is inhabited by a particular animal
or plant species. How do animals create a “
home” for themselves. Where do animals
live in your region of the world?
Talk to students
about common and exotic animals they have seen at the zoo
and in their neighborhoods. Bears hibernate in caves, birds
create nests in trees and moles burrow under the ground.
How do animals use local materials to respond to the
local environment? The availability of grasses often
defines the kinds of nests birds create. Some birds use
their own saliva to create nests in the absence of
more "conventional" materials.
Explain the concept of
biomimicry - the use of natural structures as
inspiration for our everyday life. Use the database
at
www. asknature. org to explore some examples
of biomimicry in action.
2. Local Field Study (45 minutes
Investigate)
Take students on a field study of
their local area. Arrange a field trip to a local nature
center, or take students on a neighborhood walk. Create a
field guide of common animals and habitats you would likely
see on your walk. Divide students into field study teams
- one team can observe things in the sky, one
those on the ground and yet another can
dedicate themselves to studying structures found in
trees.
Create sketches of animal habitats using
observations from your field study. Illustrated
books from the library or online can also be inspiring.
Encourage students to inspect the structure, shape and
overall forms of the habitats they observe.
DAY
TWO
1. Local Habitats, Local Architecture (10
minutes - Frame/Reframe)
Now begin to talk to
students about the kinds of buildings and design we see
most frequently. Do these structures in any way
resemble the architecture of animal habitats? Why or why
not?
Lead a discussion using some of these questions:
What could be some benefits of using animal habitats as
inspiration for new designs and architecture? How can our
local environment help us with clues for good architecture
and design for the earth and our bodies?
Discuss the
findings of your field study to encourage responses and
examples. Next, begin to define and characterize the local
region as a class. On the board create a series of prompts
for students to fill in, including:
•
Common Animals of the Region
•
Climate
• Region of the Earth
• Common Plants of the Region
•
Rocks, Mineral and other Non-living things
Encourage students to research information that will help
create content for each of these prompts. Lastly,
announce that in the next session, students will be
challenged to design a structure for humans using animal
habitats as a model.
Use this table to help identify
your bioregion:
| Geographic / Eco
Regions | Sub Regions | Principle Plant
Communities |
| The Great North | | | Tundra (no trees)/Sea Ice | | Taiga/
Boreal Forest | |
| Great Lakes | | Birch/
Beech Forest |
| Appalachians | | Deciduous/
Hardwood Forest |
| Southeast | | S. Pine/
Cypress Swamp |
| The Great Prairie | |
Grasslands (Native Gamma and Buffalo Grass |
| The
Rockies | | Mountain Forest and Meadow |
|
Deserts of the West | | Juniper/Sagebrush
Scrub; Creosote Scrub |
| The Pacific Coast | |
Northwest Coast | | California | | | Cedar/Redwood
Temperate Rainforest | | Riparian Oak/Chaparral | |
|
Islands of the Pacific/Hawaii | | Volcanic
floor/tropics |
2. Habitat Design Lab: Part One (20
Minutes - Generate)
Brainstorm to come
up with ideas and sketches of animal habitats students saw
on their field study or neighborhood walk. Focus these
concepts by asking each student to create a design for a
new zoo exhibit. Using the animals found in your region,
each student should come up with one design that would
provide a suitable, healthy habitat for holding
the animal in captivity.
Next, further these designs
by asking students to begin sketching a similar design,
this time intended for human use. Encourage students to use
designs that mimic the shape, form or function of their
particular habitat. Make sure students include labels and
descriptions.
To provide examples, discuss some major
habitat types with students:
•
Cave Dwellers - Many animals, from bears to
wildcats, use caves as a home. In a cave there is very
little light, but a lot of protection. Materials are
usually rock or compacted soil.
• Nest -
Thousands of species of birds create nests each year for
their young. High up in trees, on the side of cliffs or
even on the ground - nests are made from a lot of
different materials: grass, twigs, mud, saliva, dead leaves
and other available materials.
• Burrow
- Many small mammals, reptiles and amphibians burrow
under the ground. Creating long caves or open chambers, the
burrow protects the animals from predators, the hot
sun or a cold night. Burrows are usually made in soft, soil
earth areas, but can also be found in underwater
habitats or in the dessert.
• Grass Land
- Many different kinds of animals live in a grassland
ecosystem. Tall grasses protect antelope and small mammals
from being seen by predators. Each night the grass is
pushed back to create a small area for sleeping.
•
Bee Hives - Bees use an ingenious honeycomb
architecture that exploits the world’ s
strongest shape - the hexagon. The ubiquitous bee
hive and honeycomb shape has been used for centuries in
everything from hair styles to fuel cells.
3. Activity
Extension: Hyperbolic Coral Reefs
Coral reefs are
a vital habitat for thousands of different species of
aquatic life and plants. Using the 2010 National Design
Triennial's case study about the Institute for
Figuring’ s Coral Reef project, talk about oceanic
habitats and some of the looming environmental threats
facing many coral reef habitats around the world. The Coral
Reef project has raised awareness about these concerns by
inviting communities around the world to add to a
large-scale installation composed of crocheted pieces of
coral that have formed a collaborative reef. The Institute
has instructions on how to add to the reef on their website
here:
https://crochetcoralreef. org/makeyourown/teachers.
php
Information about the Coral Reef
Project can be found in the 2010 National Design
Triennial:
• The Bleached Reef: The Bleached
Reef is a small part of a much larger installation known as
the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef, which is being
orchestrated by twin sisters Margaret and Christine
Wertheim of the Los Angeles- based Institute for
Figuring. The Crochet Reef project was conceived in 2005 by
the Wertheims as a response to the devastation of coral
reefs worldwide due to the effects of global warming,
increasing water temperatures and the acidification of our
oceans.
An image of a real bleached reef off of the
Australian coast (Telegraph. co. uk)
4. Habitat Design
Lab: Part Two (30 minutes - Edit and Develop)
Once
a sketch and final idea have been approved, allow each team
to create a 3D model or diorama of the habitat they
have designed for both zoo and human use. Bring
in a broad assortment of materials for the
students to work with, including natural materials,
clay and cardboard. Have students
reproduce their habitat-architecture sketches in 3D.
Students should keep track of the materials that they use
and be prepared to discuss their designs using labels and
notes.
Bring the habitat to life by having each student
write a story about the design they have
produced. Encourage students to write a story from the
perspective of the animal that inspired the structure.
(Share and Evaluate)
Read your stories to each other
alongside the habitat creations. If space is
available, display the models, sketches and stories around
the school or classroom.