The new science of bio-inspiration is going to produce a plethora of products over the next decades that will transform our lives and force us to look at the world in a completely new way. This is an assessment of how cutting edge science is borrowing ideas from nature to create the inventions of tomorrow.

A cutting-edge science book in the style of ‘Fermat’s Last Theorem’ and ‘Chaos’ from an exciting and accessible voice in popular science writing.

A cutting-edge science book in the style of Fermat s Last Theorem and Chaos from an exciting and accessible new voice in popular science writing. Bio-inspiration is a form of engineering but not in the conventional sense. Extending beyond our established and preconceived notions, scientists, architects and engineers are looking at imitating nature by manufacturing 'wet' materials such as spider silk or the surface of the gecko's foot. The amazing power of the gecko's foot has long been known it can climb a vertical glass wall and even walk upside down on the ceiling but no ideas could be harnessed from it because its mechanism could not be seen with the power of optical microscopes. Recently however the secret was solved by a team of scientists in Oregon who established that the mechanism really is dry, and that it does not involve suction, capillary action or anything else the lay person might imagine. Each foot has half a million bristles and each bristle ramifies into hundreds of finer spatula-shaped projections. The fine scale of the gecko's foot is beyond the capacity of conventional microengineering, but a team of nanotechnologists have already made a good initial approximation. The gecko's foot is just one of many examples of this new 'smart' science. We also discover, amongst other things, how George de Mestral's brush with the spiny fruits of the cocklebur inspired him to invent Velcro; how the shape of leaves opening from a bud has inspired the design of solar-powered satellites; and the parallels between cantilever bridges and the spines of large mammals such as the bison. The new 'smart' science of Bio-inspiration is going to produce a plethora of products over the next decades that will transform our lives, and force us to look at the world in a completely new way. It is science we will be reading about in our papers very soon; it is the science of tomorrow's world."

A riveting account of the unexpected relationship between nature and scientific design.

Design and technology education is now an established field of study in primary schools and in many early childhood centres. Authors Marilyn Fleer and Beverley Jane offer the definitive text on this curriculum area. Design and Technology for Children 3e is a comprehensive and innovative account of teaching and research in design and technology education. It gives pre-service and in-service teachers opportunities to reflect upon and further develop their understanding of technology and technological knowledge, and to consider several different approaches in a practical and interactive way. he third edition has been written to reflect current research and practice in design and technology education for Australian children and pre-service teachers.

Technologies for Children is a comprehensive guide to teaching design and digital technologies to children from birth to 12 years. Aligned with the Early Years Learning Framework and the Australian Curriculum: Technologies, this book provides practical ideas for teaching infants, toddlers, pre-schoolers and primary-aged children. The third edition includes expanded content on teaching digital technologies, with a new chapter on computational thinking. Key topics covered include food and fibre production, engineering principles and systems, and computational thinking. The content goes beyond discussing the curriculum to consider technology pedagogies, planning, assessment and evaluation. Case studies drawn from Australian primary classrooms and early childhood centres demonstrate the transition from theory to practice. Each chapter is supported by pedagogical reflections, research activities and spotlights, as well as extensive online student resources. Written by Marilyn Fleer, this book presents innovative, engaging and student-centred approaches to integrating technologies in the classroom.