A teaching and research space founded in 1937 by RISD alumna and faculty member Edna W. Lawrence, the Edna W. Lawrence Nature Lab invites creative inquiry through direct contact with the natural world. It houses tens of thousands of specimens—seed pods, minerals, taxidermy, live creatures—and presents them in cabinet‑of‑curiosities style to spark visual experimentation and design insights. Students also use high-end imaging tools—from scanning electron microscopes to 3D scanners and high-speed cameras—to explore structure and pattern at multiple scales. The Lab’s Biodesign Makerspace supports a STEAM‑driven approach to nature‑inspired design, blending ecology, art, and sustainability.