Bees and Honey in Your Classroom (1 hour)

Discover how honey is made, taste different types of honey and sample tasty honey treats.  Investigate the life of a bee and inner workings of the hive through slides and a simulated hive.  Help extract honey from the honeycomb from one of our farm’s beehives.

Students will be seated in the classroom for a slide presentation consisting of a series of color slides that allow for close up observations of the inner-workings of a beehive.  A look at the queen, drone, and worker bees will familiarize students with the physical and social differences in each of the honeybee castes.  Students will become acquainted with the life cycle of the honeybee through a series of slides tracing the cycle from egg through larva and pupa stages to an adult bee.  The various jobs of the bees will also be discussed and illustrated through slides.  Other honeybee behaviors, such as swarming, navigating, and communication, will be covered.  Students will also learn how the honeybees survive the winter months. 

A simulated hive will be set up in front of the students in order to demonstrate the tools and techniques for opening a beehive.  Students will see how honey is extracted from the honeycomb using a decapping knife to melt the beeswax caps and an extractor to remove the honey.  Students will learn that honey can have a different taste depending on the source of the nectar used to make the honey.  Students will be able to taste various kinds of honey from different sources of nectar in order to compare and contrast the honey flavors.  Students will also participate in making a special honey treat from honey, peanut butter, and dry milk (*Note: Peanut butter can be eliminated for classes with nut allergies).

Bee Vocabulary