Engineering Nature’s Strength

At first glance, Victoria water lilies look delicate, but don’t be fooled! These giant plants can hold up to 183 pounds (about the weight of a grown adult!) thanks to the strong ribs and veins hidden beneath their leaves. The Denver Botanic Gardens turned this natural wonder into a viral challenge: the Water Lily Weigh-Off! Botanical gardens around the world competed to see whose lily could hold the most weight, showing off both serious science and silly creativity (yes, even toy frogs and cheesecakes made an appearance.)

Design your own “Strength of Nature” Challenge!
Your goal: turn a natural feature (like a plant, shell, rock, or animal design) into a fun, educational contest that highlights science + creativity.
Describe
- What natural object you’ll feature (example: spider webs, pinecones, coral, honeycombs)
- The challenge or contest you’ll create (example: “Strongest Spider Silk Spin-Off”)
- How people will test or show off the feature
- How it teaches something about science or design