Do you love animals that look at bit creepy? This challenge is for you!
The aye-aye is a gremlin-looking creature found in Madagascar. But the lemur is a harmless creature unless you are a larvae. Aye-ayes are primates and related to chimpanzees, apes, and humans. They have several unusual traits, big eyes, big ears and a long, bony, witch-like middle finger.
The perfect finger to use as inspiration for innovations and ideas.
The nocturnal aye-aye find food by echolocating with his fingers. This approach is similar to a woodpecker using his beak to find food. The aye-aye taps on trees with its long middle finger and listens for insect larvae moving under the bark. The long middle finger is used to dig the larvae out and to scope out the flesh of coconuts and other fruits.
Photo
Invent something using aye-aye’s long bony middle finger as inspiration. Write a poem or song about a person using the invention. A comic strip is also a great way to tell a story.
Think about:
- When would you like to use a finger to help you find things?
- Are there any special groups of people who might have problems with finding things?
Or maybe you know another creepy looking animal that you can use as inspiration.
A link to a couple of videos about this fascinating animal on BBC Nature. This link may not work in some parts of the world, sorry for that.
I would love to see your creations so please send them to me and I will post them here. You find my email address at the top under the page About. Thanks.
A link to some ideas:
http://inhabitat.com/the-biomimicry-manual-what-can-the-aye-aye-teach-us-about-echolocation/
Biomimicry for Young Children 