> Does anyone have info on US gardens or other private/public
> places that have colonies on exhibit?  Who manages them?

My Dad (confusingly also named "James Fischer") manages
an observation hive at Smith Mountain Lake State Park in Virginia.
Every spring, we pick the weakest colony between our collections
that has a queen that is not completely worn out, and install it
in his custom-build, constantly redesigned 15-frame observation hive,
and install it at the visitor center.

The kids love it, and the sales of Dad's honey help fund the park
operations, as Virginia has been only inches away from being sold off
at a bankruptcy auction for years.  His land adjoins the state park,
so all the honey can be honestly said to have been made from state
park flowers and weeds, as Dad's land is 100% hayfields and pine forest.

In general, there is nothing like an observation hive to insure
brisk honey sales, but one needs a largish one if one wants to
have a "zero maintenance colony".  Optimal for a 15-frame set-up
appears to be 5 frames of "brood chamber", with a queen excluder
forcing the other 10 frames to be "honey supers".

Our maintenance is limited to an optional mid-summer removal of
capped frames of honey and replacement with empty comb to
"keep 'em busy".  Not quite "zero", but pretty darned close.

After Labor Day, we either over-winter the colony in traditional
wooden boxes in Dad's bee yard, or we combine it with another
weakish colony for winter.

The display is fairly simple - the hive is bolted down to a table
to be 100% poke-proof, and the wall behind is covered with a
selection from the Dadant "study print" series, with captions added
to explain each print.  The key point here is that the entrance is
well above head height - the bees climb a clear plastic tube to
to the entrance, which is near the ceiling.  Magnifying glasses are
lying around to allow up-close and personal examination of the bees.
The display is "self-service", but Dad will go down and talk to
groups who make arrangements in advance.

One thing I will say is that 100% of the observation hives one can
buy are too darned small for a long-term, low-maintenance colony.
Other than that, one must be willing to tinker the first year or
two to get things dialed in for a "set-it-up and forget it" scheme.
Think modular.  Think "must be carried outside to work on it".
And remember that for an indoor hive, there is simply no such
thing as "too much ventillation".

       jim  (Some things have to be believed to be seen)

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