Free Family Classes on Bees at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum

The Kalamazoo Valley Museum is thinking outside the box when it comes to hands-on science. Our new Innovation Lab, which offers a rotating array of hands-on science activities, will host two family classes related to bees this summer and two 4-H Native Bee Challenge Workshops. Register early before classes fill up.

Healing from the Hive
July 16, 1 – 3 p.m.

Explore bee-related products, learn about their healing properties, and make a salve and sandwich wrap using beeswax with special guest Brenna Pixley. Brenna’s passion for herbalism stems from a deep appreciation for naturalism, anthropology, and history. She also finds great pleasure in empowering others to tap back into age-old medicinal practices and is a proponent of sustainable foraging for generations to come. For adults with children ages 9 and up. Adult required to participate with child. Register at kvcc.edu/community. Space is limited.

Naturally Safe Bee Products
July 25, 1 – 3 p.m.

Learn about beeswax and how it is produced, collected, and rendered, then make your own lotion bars and lip balm from beeswax made by local bees that have been kept chemical free. Caroline Abbott of Abbott Farms - Sustainable Agriculture will provide a free class for families at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum focused on safe bee products. The label “natural” can often mislead buyers into believing all natural and safe ingredients were used. Learn more about how chemicals are threatening the bees and our food supply. Abbott Farms in Otsego is experimenting in several areas, attempting to develop a sustainable system which anyone with a little bit of property can put into practice. They offer products, services, and classes designed to promote sustainable agriculture. For adults with children ages 9 and up. Adult required to participate with child. Register at kalamazoomuseum.org. Space is limited.

Michigan State University Extension and Kalamazoo County 4-H will present two free Native Bee Challenge workshops at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum this summer, July 9 and 11, 1 – 3 p.m. Trained youth beekeepers will teach students in grades 3 – 5 about honeybees, pollination, and bee habitats in this 90-minute workshop. Students will also create a bee house to take home.

One in every three bites of food we eat is pollinated by bees. Supporting bee habitat is important. The world population is growing, and 4-H members are stepping up to meet the challenge by encouraging other youth to explore career opportunities in agriculture and STEM that will address this need. Participants will learn that honeybees and other pollinators are essential contributors to growing food and feeding the world. Honeybees utilize a combination of natural and agricultural habitats to maintain healthy hives. Preserving and maintaining the natural foraging habitats of honeybees is important. Commercial beekeepers transport honeybees all across the country to boost crop yield, since there are not enough managed honeybees or native pollinators to maximize agricultural production. By using problem solving and critical thinking skills, exploring career options in science and agriculture, and learning teamwork and communication skills, we can activate the youth to potentially solve our future food crisis by protecting the bees.

To register, email the 4-H office at bolhuisv@msu.edu. Space is limited.