In an age of complex environmental challenges, why not look to the ingenuity of nature for solutions? The forms, patterns, and processes found in the natural world—refined by 3.8 billion years of evolution—can inspire our design of everything from raincoats to skyscrapers. This approach to innovation, called biomimicry, is becoming increasingly popular. Bird wings. Beehives. Porcupine quills. These have inspired design improvements that enable faster travel, safer buildings, and more precise medical equipment.

The exhibition Nature’s Blueprints: Biomimicry in Art and Design brings together art and design with environmental science using both scientific and artistic objects, as well as interactive learning stations. The exhibition is an adaptation of the High Desert Museum’s Innovation Lab: Design Inspired by Nature.

Biomimicry is not a novel idea; Gaudi and Da Vinci both took inspiration from nature. Modern science and technology, however, are rapidly expanding the types of materials and systems we can create. Similarly, the biological world has long served as a source of inspiration for artists. Biomimicry in art is not just painting or sculpting a flower. Rather, it is a process that entails exploring the material properties, cycles, and dynamics of nature, and how whole biological systems are structured—and putting that into works of art. Artworks and designs that are rooted in the laws and forms of nature can address pressing issues, such as conservation, sustainability, and environmental justice. They can also spark an interest in, and connection with, nature.

The intended takeaway messages of this exhibition are that nature is incredible, we can learn from it, and we can all be inventors. It also serves, indirectly, to highlight the importance of research. Our understanding of the natural world can lead to some extraordinary inventions that improve lives and reduce our impact on the environment.

High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon, brings together wildlife, cultures, art, history, and the natural world to convey the wonder of North America’s High Desert. The High Desert Museum opened in 1982, is a Smithsonian Affiliate, and was a finalist for the 2018 National Medal for Museum and Library Services.

Visit https://www.museum.littletonco.gov/Home to confirm hours, fees, and more information.