Shrimp that can break through glass? Spider webs stronger than steel? See why every living thing is a machine built to survive, move, and discover. Explore how these marvels of natural engineering inspire us at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Every living thing is a machine

Explore how plants and animals stay in one piece despite the crushing forces of gravity, the pressure of water and wind, and the attacks of predators. Using surprising tactics, creatures endure the planet’s extreme temperatures, find food against fierce competition, and – without metal, motors or electricity – circulate their own life-sustaining fluids. Try to “fly” and study the many different ways creatures jump, gallop, slither, and swim. See technological breakthroughs – like Velcro, wind turbines, and chainsaws – that were inspired by nature’s ingenuity.

Nature’s Amazing Machines was developed by the Field Museum, Chicago, in partnership with the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, with generous support provided by the Searle Funds at the Chicago Community Trust and ITW Foundation.

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