We present a drawing discovery lab that crosscuts multiple disciplines in biology and links concepts in genetics and evolutionary thinking to enhance understanding of the genotype-to-phenotype transformation. These combined concepts are also linked to ecological frameworks in nature through the model of biological plasticity. Students and teachers explore drawing skills to flesh out the future of a predator while engaging with the computational software MEGA, which introduces students and teachers to nucleotide changes, mutations, variation, phylogenetics, and molecular evolution.

Evolutionary evidence is important scientific background for appreciating the theory of evolution. We describe a STEAM-based lesson plan that uses paleontological drawings and a modern evolutionary database to explore and understand fossil, morphological, and molecular evidence. Together, with a focus on arthropods and the Cambrian explosion, students experience a heuristic process common in scientific reasoning, guiding them toward practices that synthesize knowledge and invite questioning in the life sciences.

A lesson plan on the phylum Tardigrada is presented in a storytelling workbook that introduces the evolutionary concepts of adaptive radiation, speciation, divergence, and “tree-thinking” through narrative, transitional art, contemplative coloring, and data searches, which can be enhanced with microscopy wet labs. Students gain insight into the invertebrate world of the highly adaptable, ubiquitous microorganisms known colloquially as “water bears,” generating a microevolutionary and macroevolutionary perspective through a narrative that includes an introduction to the TimeTree database.