One of my favorite things to do with my kids is see people really at work on something they know a lot about. Museums are great, but just watching someone doing something that you’ve never done and asking a few questions can lead to a depth that just
looking at the results of the work can’t. Some recent trips we’ve taken in this vein was when we went to San Jose Tofu Company and also when my friend Daniella Woolf taught a class in encaustic. It’s one thing to eat the stuff or admire it; it’s another to see it being made and talk to the person who was making it.
Another local experience that I can’t recommend highly enough is Pacific Crest Apiaries’ Open House, which starts next week. The first learning opportunity for your kids comes with the name… do they raise apes? Nope — they are beekeepers, and their open house is a homegrown affair that’s really fun. Dana and Ed Mumm are infectious with their enthusiasm over their little charges, and they can answer pretty much any question you have.
At their open house, you get to see bee boxes up close to see how they work. You get to see the extraction machines. You can see the many displays that Dana has made over the years which explain bee anatomy, the social life of the hive, what honey is, and more. Outside, you can see their bees at work, and best of all, you can watch the bees in their observation hive, which has clear sides so you can watch them work.
Dana paints the queen in the observation hive with a dot of color so that you can find her amidst all the busy work. Your kids will definitely get the meaning of “busy as a bee” watching the hive!
And yes, there will be opportunities to spend your money as well, though that’s not the focus of the event. Dana makes gorgeous beeswax candles, and sells them along with their honey, bee pollen, and other lovely items such as soaps and tea. So in one trip, you can see the tiny workers that start the product, the machines and processes that turn it into the raw materials, and the products themselves. And Dana and Ed will be there to answer your questions and show you around.
If you are looking for honeybee educational materials, here are a few:
- Enchanted Learning offers their honeybee diagram, bee cloze activity, and bee label sheet free with ads, or printable without ads for a reasonable yearly fee.
- The Illinois State Beekeepers’ Association offers a range of free educational materials that are mostly suitable for older children or adults, with a few of interest to younger children.
- The National Honey Board offers a number of free fun and educational materials for kids.
