>Karen:
>
>re: your presentation to children on beekeeping.
 
>However I recommend wooden stirring sticks
>such as ice-block sticks for tasting rather than fingers.  I buy packs of
>1000 sticks from food wholesalers (try catering suppliers) and take these to
>public tastings with a honey pail for the used sticks (cut hole in centre of
>lid so there is no confusion between used and new sticks).
 
I am right with Betty on the dip-stick method. Here in the US, we call
them popsicle sticks, and you can get them really cheaply by the 1,000.
Much less mess than fingers. Have some paper towels on hand, though, or
a damp washcloth! With little kids, you have to watch to make sure they
don't whip around to the end of the line and come by again. I had one
little bugger getting lunch out of my sample bottle at a kindergarten
harvest fair demo. After a while, they all look alike, those kids,
especially when you are wearing veil and suit, and you're hot, and every
one of them asks you how many times you've been stung...
 
>The real interest gripper is of course an observation hive but this is
>difficult to transport and safety is all important.
 
I usually catch a half dozen bees in a Mason jar, and put screening
over the top instead of the canning dome. The ring spins on right over
nylon netting. The kids can hold the jar right up to their faces and
feel very brave. If I can get a couple of drones in there, they can
see the difference between drones and workers.
 
Besides the other ordinary stuff for show-and-tell (smoker, drawn frame,
empty super w/lid and base, hive tool, suit, gloves, veil...) I have
some gorgeous photos, laminated to keep them from disintegrating, that I
tack up. The Apistan brochure, for instance, has a beautiful picture
of a bee, all with her baskets full, that is about 9 x 12 inches, and
makes a nice display. There is also a close-up of a varroa, and a
wonderful shot of a beekeeper handling a frame. This stuff is cheap
to prepare and makes a nice presentation.
 
At places where the kids' parents come, too, like a school fair, I
find it is the parents who are most interested in these displays. It is
a lot of fun.
 
Susan Nielsen
 
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Susan Nielsen                   | Beehive: If you build it,
[log in to unmask]            | they will comb.
 
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