Hello,

I work for a Zoo and for years we have had an ob hive as part of our SC
farm exhibit.  The hive is in a barn with graphics explaining honeybee
biology and the importance of pollinators to the visitors.

The hive is of an interesting design, being 4 deep frames high and a
single frame deep, but there are two such stacks each level joined by a
short runway.  These are 90 degrees from each other giving the public 4
different viewing angles.  There is then the obligatory runway to the
outside.

Traditionally the queens have been reluctant to use more than one side,
apparently not wishing to cross one of the bridges, and the unit acts as
a traditional 4 frame hive.  The population builds up and then we have
swarms.  There has been some issues with SHB in the less used side as
there are fewer bees to monitor the situation.

I have been mulling over ways to make the exhibit better for the bees
and the visitors for a while now, and have had several ideas I was
hoping people might comment on.

One is to reduce the hive to a straight forward 4 frame tall ob hive.
This way people can see the queen as always, but the dead space is
eliminated.  I do have some concerns with colony maintenance though, as
the exhibit is tough to service when we are open, and I was looking for
something a smidgen lower on the manpower scale.

The other thing that intrigued me was the 3 frame wide hive sold by
beecommerce.com. I was thinking that something like that, only instead
of 3 deeps and 3 medium frames I might have one made that was two rows
of 3 deeps for more space.  Can't see the queen, but I get the
impression that most folks are there to simply see the bees as a colony,
  not just her majesty.

Anyone have any other thoughts?  Experiences with OB hives in the
educational setting??

thanks,

Keith