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TheBeeCauseProject
2
Watchingyourhoneybeesatworkinthe
observationhiveisfascinatingforteachersandstudentsalike.
Thesetinycreaturescollaboratetobuildandmaintainacomplex
communitywithinthehive.Withthenaturalwonderofthehive
madevisibleintheobservationhive,thereareendless
opportunitiestopromotecriticalthinkingandSTE(A)Mskills.
Studentscanpracticethese21stcenturyskillswhileobserving
realworldexamples,andgainingadeeperunderstandingofand
respectforthenaturalworld.
“Wemustmakecoresubjectslikemathandscience
relevantforstudents,andatthesametime,foster
creativity,curiosityandapassionforproblemsolving.
That’swhatSTEMeducationdoes.STEMisaboutusing
mathandsciencetosolvereal-worldchallengesand
problems.Thisapplied,project-basedwayofteachingand
learningallowsstudentstounderstandandappreciatethe
relevancyoftheirworktotheirownlivesandtheworld
aroundthem.Oncetheygraspcoreconcepts,studentsare
abletochooseaproblemandusetheirowncreativityand
curiositytoresearch,design,testandimproveaviable
solution.”
-VinceBertramasquotedinwebarticle“Why
STEM?SuccessStartsWithCriticalThinking,
Problem-SolvingSkills”,postedonwired.com
Basicknowledgeabouthowplantsandbeesaredependenton
eachotherisjustthebeginning.Whenstudentsbegintoseeour
roleintheecosystem–boththenegativeandpositiveimpacts–
theycanaskrelevantandimportantquestions.Withan
engineeringdesignorgrowthmindsettheycanworktofindreal
solutions.Andthesecriticalthinkingskillscanbeappliedacross
thecurriculum.
TheBeeCauseProject
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Thisguidewillgiveyousomeideastohelpyougetstartedwiththeseinvestigations.AndtherearenumerouswebsiteswithbackgroundinformationandlessonsusingthehoneybeeandhiveasthebackdropforSTE(A)Minvestigations.IfyoudonotalreadyhaveourBeeWiseGuide,pleaseusethelinktodownloadyourcopy.Itisanexcellentintroductiontohoneybeesandthehive.Anditprovidesmuchofthebaseknowledgestudentsneedtobegintheconversationabouttheimportanceofhoneybeesandourroleintheirsurvival.TheNationalHoneyBoardalsohasagreatdownloadablebookletcalledTheHoneyFiles.Whetheryourprimarygoalistohavestudentslearnabouthoneybeesortohonemathandscienceskills,thereareamyriadofopportunitiestoengagestudentswiththeworldofbeesandyourobservationhive!
ResourcesBeeWiseGuidehttp://www.thebeecause.org/index.php/resourcesTheHoneyFileshttp://utah.agclassroom.org/files/uploads/estore/honey_files.pdfvideoversionhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZV8Jq3ka4s&feature=youtu.be Documentaries:
“Tales from the Hive” – PBS Nova “Vanishing Bees” – vanighingbees.com “More Than Honey” – morethanhoneyfilm.com “Queen of the Sun, What the Bees Are Telling Us” – queenofthesun.com
TheBeeCauseProject
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PollinationInvestigations
Honeybeesdependonplantsjustasmuchastheplantsdependonbees.Manyplantsproducenectar,asweetliquid,toattractbeesandotherpollinators.Beesgatherthisliquidasfood.Thenectar’sscentattractsbeestotheplant.Manyflowersarealsocoloredtosignalthattheycontainnectar.Theflowersareshapedtoensurethatvisitinghoneybeeswillspreadpolleninreturnforthefood.
Asyoucansee,thepartnershipbetweenbeesandplantsisimportanttolifeforboth.Withoutplantsproducingnectarandpollen,beeswouldn’thavefood.Andwithoutbeesvisitingtheflowerstocollectnectar,manyplantswouldn’tbeabletoreproduce.Thispartnershipbenefitsanothergrouptoo–people!
excerptfrom
TheCaseoftheVanishingHoneybeesSandraMarkleApproximately30%ofourcrops,andasmanyas90%ofwildplants,dependonpollinators.Plantslikeblueberriesandalmondsdependentirelyoninsectsforpollination.Whatwouldhappenifthereweren’tenoughbees?Howcouldhumanshelp?Onthefollowingpagesaresomeinvestigationstohelpgetstudentsthinkingabout–andperhapssolvingsomeoftheseproblems.
TheBeeCauseProject
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InvestigationsforElementary
CreateaBetterPollenBasketItishardtoimproveonnature.Havestudentsobservethewaypollenbasketsonthebee’slegscanbefilledwiththeyellowpollen.Pollenalsostickstothebee’sbodyasitcollectsnectarandpollen.Howdoesthepollensticktothebee?Canthestudentsthinkofamoreeffectiveadaptationthanthepollenbaskets?Afterlearningthesebasics,challengestudentsto:
• Createabeethatisbettersuitedforcollectingpollenforthehiveorforpollinationofplants.
• Havestudentsbecomebeesthemselves,outfittedwiththeirownversionofpollencollectingadaptations.
BeeAttractorsHoneybeesdoseemtoseedifferentcolors,butnotallcolors.Andtheydonotseecolorsthesamewaythatwehumansdo.Beesdon’tseeasmanycolorvariations.Onecolortheydoseethatwedonotisultraviolet.Inanotheramazingadaptationofnature,flowershaveultravioletcolormarkingsintheareaswherethenectarandpollencanbefound!This,alongwithscent,guidesthebeestojusttherightspot.ThemarkingsontheflowerscanbeseenintheclassroomwithUVlights.
Usingthisknowledge,havestudentsconsiderhowtheymighthelphoneybeesfindtheirwaytofloweringplants.Whatdevicesorstrategiescouldattractbeestoagardenorcrop?Wouldthisbebeneficial?Couldthebeesbeharmedbysuchahumanintervention?
• Createandimplementideasoncampusandmonitorbeetraffic.
• Designanurbanenvironmentthatminimizesinterferencewiththenaturalforagingprocess.
FastFacts:
Ahoneybeewillvisit50to100flowersona
singletripoutofthehive.
Honeybees
pollinatemorethan90differentkindsoffood
crops.
Beesseethecolorredasblack.
Anyonewearingredorblackmaybeseenbythe
beesasathreateningpredator.
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InvestigationsforIntermediateandUpperGrades
StaticElectricity Asbeesfly,theybuildupstaticelectricity.Thisstaticelectricityhelpspollensticktothebee’sbodyasshefliesfromflowertoflowerbecauseplantsgenerallyhaveaslightlynegativecharge.Thiscombinationofpositiveandnegativechargesallowsforthecrosspollinationtotakeplace.Isthereawaytocontrolstaticelectricityaroundthebeesoratthesightoftheplantstomaximizetheamountofpollinationtakingplaceasthebeesflyfromoneplanttoanother?
• Havestudentsexperimentwithwaystousestaticelectricityasameanstoattractandholdontoothermatter.
HumanPollinatorsHoneybeesareresponsibleforpollinatingatleast90differentkindsoffoodcrops.Andtheydosowithamazingefficiency.ColonyCollapseDisorder(CCD),pesticides,mono-croppingandnumerousotherenvironmentalfactorsarenowplacingthehoneybeepopulationatrisk.Adaymaycomewhenwedonothaveenoughbeestopollinateourcrops.Couldhumansdothejob?
• Havestudentsdesignclothing,devicesorequipmenttofacilitatepollination.
• Havestudentsexploretechniquesortoolsfortransferringpollenfromoneplanttoanother.
• Usingtheirpollinationsuitsortools,havestudentsattempttopollinateasetnumberofplantsasquicklyaspossible.Basedonresults,studentsrevisetheirdesignsand/ortechnique.Isitreasonabletothinkthathumanscanreplacebeesinthepollinationprocess?
FastFacts:
Beesdevelopapositivechargewhentheybumpintotinydust
particlesastheyflythroughtheair.
Alongwiththeirultravioletvision,beesuseeachflower’sown
electricalfieldtohelpdirectthemrighttothenectar.
**SeetheNationalParkServicesBeeWeekcurriculumforthisandotherinteractivelessons.https://www.nps.gov/subjects/pollinators/upload/FINALBee-Week.pdf
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HexagonInvestigations
Whatitisaboutthehexagonthatmakesitthebestshapefor
thehoneycomb.Theconsistentsizeandshapeseemtobe
idealfornotonlymakinghoney,butalsoforgrowingnew
bees.
“In36B.C.,RomanscholarMarcusTerentiusVarrocameupwiththeanswerofwhyhoneycombcells
arehexagons,inwhatsincehasbeencalled
theHoneycombConjecture.Varroguessedthathexagonisthebestwaytodivideasurfaceintoregions
ofequalareawiththeleasttotalperimeter-basically,
it'sthemostcompact(andthereforeefficient)structure
-buthecouldn'tproveitmathematically.”
fromTheHoneycombConjecturebyAlexSansantosoatneatorama.com
Itwasn’tuntil1999,sometwothousandyearsafterVarro
cameupwithhisoriginalconjecture,thataprofessoratthe
UniversityofPittsburgh,ThomasC.Hales,cameupwith
themathematicalproofforVarro’soriginaltheory.Thehistory
ofmathematics,thesimplicityofgeometricshapes,andthe
artistryofashaperepeatedoverandoveragainintoa
beautifulpatternareallconnectedhereinthehive.The
honeycombisafantasticstartingpointforexplorationsinall
oftheseareas.
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InvestigationsforElementary
SpatialRelationships
Piaget(1954a)consideredtheconcretestageamajorturning
pointinthechild'scognitivedevelopment,becauseitmarks
thebeginningoflogicaloroperationalthought.Thechildis
nowmatureenoughtouselogicalthoughtoroperations(i.e.
rules)butcanonlyapplylogictophysicalobjects.
Childrenintheconcreteoperationalstagearetypicallyages7
to11.Theygaintheabilitiesofconservation(number,area,
volume,orientation)andreversibility.Theirthinkingismore
organizedandrational.Theycansolveproblemsinalogical
fashion,butaretypicallynotabletothinkabstractlyor
hypothetically.
• Havechildrendesigntheirownhoneycombusingpattern
blocksortemplateswiththegoalofnoemptyspaces
betweentheshapes.Thenhavestudentsclassifythe
shapesthatcanbeusedandthosethatdonot‘fit’
together.
• Collectawidevarietyofmaterialsandhavestudents
construct3-dhoneycombs.
HexagonalThinking
Hexagonsmaketheperfectshapeforthebeehive.Theycan
alsobeagreattoolfororganizingandprocessinginformation.
Cutorpunchmultiplehexagonsofatleast3to4inchesin
diameter.Usethehexagonstocreateagraphicorganizerweb.
• Stage1–theteacherwritestheinformationonthe
shapes,andthenthestudentssortandorganizethem
intoawebwithrelatedshapestouchingsidetoside.
• Stage2–studentswritetheirowninformationonthe
shapes,andthenarrangethemtoshowtherelationships
betweenthepiecesofinformation.
FastFact:
Scientistsfound
certainbeeswould
startoutmaking
circlesinthewax
usingtheirbodyas
atool.Scientists
don’treallyknow
whyithappens,
butthebeesseem
tobeusingtheir
bodyheattomelt
thewaxfroma
circleshapeintoa
hexagonshape.
TheBeeCauseProject
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InvestigationsforIntermediateand
UpperGrades
TheUltimateShapeSowhythehexagon.Couldanothershapeordesignbemoreefficient?Howcanwedemonstrate(ordisprove)theefficacyofVarro’sargument?
• Havestudentsconstructandcomparevariousbasicshapes.Considerstructuralintegrity,capacityofthecells,amountofmaterialneededtocoverafiniteareawitheachofthedifferentshapes.
• Comparetwoshapesandwriteaproofforwhyonehasgreaterstrengthorcapacity.
TessellationsTessellationsareafunwaytoexploreshapeandpattern.Thehoneycombisatessellationofhexagonswithhundredsofbeesworkingtogethertorepeatthepatternsimultaneously.EuclidiscommonlycreditedastheFatherofGeometry.Onthesewebsites;euclidthefatherofgeometry.weebly.com/tessellations.html,andmathforum.org/sum95/suzanne/whattess.html,youcanfindfurtherdiscussionandexplanationsaboutthetessellationanditsvariousforms.
• Only3basicshapestessellateinaEuclidianplane.Experimenttodeterminewhyandwritearuleforthis.Whydoyouthinkthebeesusethehexagonandnottheothertwoshapes?
• Isoneshapesuperiortotheothers?How?• Formulateanequationforthevolumeofliquida
specificareaofcellscanhold.Doestheequationholdtrueregardlessofthesizeoftheindividualcellswithinthespace?
FastFact:
Regularhexagonswithequalsidesandequalanglesareacommonlyfoundshapeinnature.The
honeycombofbees,forexample,
isanaturallyoccurringinstanceofthehexagon.Mineralsand
crystalsoftenformhexagonalshapesnaturally,whilethe
chemicalcompoundsofgrapheneand
benzenenaturallyformhexagonsattheatomiclevel.
-fromreference.com
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HiveClimateInvestigationsHoneybeesmaintainasteadytemperatureinsidethehivethroughtheseason.Youcanfeelthewarmthwhenyouplaceyourhandagainsttheobservationhive.Whilewegofromwintertosummerandbackagainthebeesinthehivekeepthetemperaturearoundthebroodat93-94*F(33.9-34.4*C).Inthecolderwintermonths,withoutbroodtocarefor,thebeeswillclustertogetherforwarmth.Theycankeeptheirtemperatureat85*F(29.4*C)despitewintertemperaturesoutside.Thebeesalsomanagetoevaporatemoisturefromthenectarinthecellsofthecombregardlessofoutdoorhumiditylevels.Theyworkuntilthehoneyisapproximately18%waterbeforetheycapthecells.
“Thephenomenonknownasbeebeardingreferstotheclusteringorhangingofolderbeesoutsidethefrontfaceofthehiveduringveryhotweather,givingtheimpressionofabeard.Thisbehavioriscommononhot,humiddayswhentemperaturesreachhigh80sand90s(27-33*C).”
excerptfromTheBeekeepersHandbookSammataroandAvitabile
Mostofthetimethebeesarefineontheirown.Butinextremetemperatures,beekeepersmaydecreasestressonthecolonybyhelpingthebeestomaintainahealthyclimateinmanmadehives.Aretherethingsthathumanscoulddotohelpthebeestomaintaintheidealclimateinthehiveregardlessofoutdoorconditions?
TheBeeCauseProject
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InvestigationsforElementary
WarmintheWinter,CoolintheSummerWeknowthathoneybeesareabletoheatandcooltheirhivetomaintainappropriatetemperatures.KarlvonFrischwasthefirstscientisttostudybeesinasystematicway.Hisinvestigationsarecreditedwithuncoveringhowbeessmell,see,telltimeandcommunicate.Heisalsosaidtobethefirsttodecodethewaggledanceandrounddance.Thoughhisexplanationswerenotimmediatelyaccepted,heandtwootherscientistswontheNobelPeacePrizeisPhysiologyin1973fortheirpioneeringworkwithbees.(source:TheBeeBook,2016,publishedbyDK)
• Testmaterialstofindwhicharethemosteffectiveandefficientforheatingandcooling.
• Designtoolsorinterventionstohelpcoolthehiveinhotweatherortoinsulatethehiveincoldweather.
DesignYourOwnHiveThebeesseemtodowellinmanmadehives.Butapiaristsandscientistscontinuetolookforbetterwaystocareforandhousebees.
• Havestudentsdesigntheirownhives,tellingwhytheymadethedesignchoicestheydid.Whatneedsofabeecolonydoestheirhiveaddress?
• Asaclass,buildyouownhive.Ratherthanpre-cutwoodandthestandarddesign,collaborateonastructurethatmeetstheneedsofabeecolonyandbuildityourselves.
FastFacts:
1300beesinspectandvisiteachlarvae,visiting
eachlarvaeupto7200times!
Beesmake1to50
tripsperdaycollectingpollen.Thesetripscanlastanywherefrom6to200minutes.
TheBeeCauseProject
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InvestigationsforIntermediateandUpperGrades
ClimateControlThebeesneedstomaintainacertaintemperaturearoundthebroodandwithinthehiveitself.Theyalsoneedtobeabletoevaporateenoughmoisturefromthehoneybeforeitisreadytobecapped.Currentlymosthivesaremadefromwood.
• Investigatetheimpactofpaintingtheoutsideofthehive.Usemodelstodetermineifpaintoritscolorhasanyimpactoninteriortemperature.
• Constructhivemodelsoutofvariousmaterials.Monitorthetemperatures(andhumidity)ineachtoseeifthereisasuperiormaterialforhiveconstruction.
ABetterHiveDesignHoneybeesnaturallyseekdark,protectedspacestocallhome.Theywillbuildahiveinatree,acave,andeveninsidethewallsofahouse.Thereareseveraltypesofmanmadehivesmostoftenusedinbeekeeping,butstillapiaristsseektoimproveonthedesigns.TworecentdevelopmentsaretheFlowHiveandtheTheFlowHivewasdesignedtoharvesthoneywithlessintrusionandstressonthebees.TheHivewasdesignedasameanstocontrolmiteinfestationswithoutusingpesticidesormedicinesonthehive.Stillotherdesignscouldaddressotherproblemsfacingthehoneybeepopulation.
• Createapotentialhivedesignthataddressesanareaofneedforthebeesorbeekeepers.
• Designahivetobeplacedinthewild,andnotintendedforharvesting.Thinkaboutwhatwouldbeanoptimaldesignforthebeestomaintainontheirown.
FastFacts:
Ittakestheheatequivalenttothatofa20-wattlightbulbtomaintainthebroodnesttemperature.
Themostcommon
typesofhivescurrentlyare;topbarhive,LangstrothhiveandWarrehive.Whatothers
havebeenintroducedrecently?
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InConclusion…Thehoneybeeshavesomuchtoteachus!Andwiththeobservationhiveyoucanseemuchofitfirsthand.Thesocialstructurewithinacolonyofbeesiscomplex.Manyofthetreesandplantswedependonforfood,cangrowonlywiththehelpofpollinators.Andthereareusefulproductswetakefromthehive.Honeyisthemostfamiliar.Thewaxisusedformanypurposes,andpropolishasmedicinalvalue.Thereissomuchtolearnaboutandinvestigate.Whilesharingthewonderofbeeswithyourstudents,youareraisingawarenessaboutthechallengesfacingthebeepopulation.Withknowledgeaboutthebeesandthe21stcenturyskillsdevelopedinSTE(A)Mlessons,thestudentsandbeesalikecanlookforwardtoabrightfuture.WehopethisguidehasgivenyousomeinspirationandideasabouthowhoneybeescanbringyourSTE(A)Mlessonstolife!