Leaders in the Global Biomimicry Movement
We have partnered with the City of San Diego and local universities to become the world’s first biomimicry hub.
Biomimicry in Action
Read all about innovations that have been inspired by nature.
The San Diego Zoo aims to become a key center in the biomimicry movement. The Zoo is collaborating with regional, national, and global organizations to build San Diego into a global hub for biomimicry education, awareness, research, and application. We hope that one day all designers, engineers, researchers, and more will turn to our facilities as a living design center to inspire students, researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, and companies to learn about and apply nature’s design principles to problems faced by humankind.
This inspiration applies not only to product-focused innovations, such as early-stage development or established manufacturing methods, but also to organizational and collaborative processes. The ultimate outcome will be to cause a fundamental shift in thinking about challenges to business.
The San Diego Zoo offers unparalleled facilities to introduce biomimicry in an interactive and multi-sensory way. With nearly 4,000 animals representing 840 species in our care, our collection is unmatched in its size and scope. In addition to being zoological facilities, the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park are also accredited botanical gardens with over 40,000 plant species. Our education staff reaches more than 300,000 students every year and has tremendous expertise in creating innovative and engaging educational programs. Our San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research employs over 150 researchers with expertise ranging from the molecular to the ecological landscape level. We employ hundreds of animal curators, behaviorists, horticulturists, veterinarians, and pathologists with an intimate knowledge of the plants and animals under their care.
Moving into the future, we hope to share our resources with local, national, and global communities to help progress biomimicry and build San Diego into a hub for sustainable, nature-inspired innovation.