D3004: Science for everyone: Making bioinspired design more accessible

Making analogies is at the heart of bioinspired design; it plays a crucial role in drawing inspiration from nature to develop new human-engineered innovations. It’s no surprise then that making analogies in science communication and using relatable tactile and visual examples in outreach events make bioinspiration topics accessible to learners of all ages and disciplines. Here, we present a guide to break down bioinspiration in a way that makes the science accessible for a wide audience. Our guide can also be used to make other scientific concepts more open, accessible, and relatable to children, adults, and even colleagues and collaborators with different educational backgrounds.