Well it is that time of year again. School has started and teachers are looking for interesting speakers to address young minds. If you should be so lucky to have the opportunity to address classes of students don't pass it up. It can be a real good time.
I usually spend about an hour in the class with the kids and start with discussions of what a honeybee is and go from there to why we have bees and what they do for us on this planet of ours. Most of the children are surprised to find out that about a third of our food crops are pollinated crops and it is almost always the really tasty ones. Be sure to name some of the foods that they would like, apples, watermelons and things like that. Kids are fascinated with the sting of a honeybee so expect to spend some time in that area of discussion. I try to let the children know that we breed the bees for gentle behavior and that the honeybee has no attitude issues like the yellow jackets. I do a short math lesson about the number of stings it tales to get killed by a bunch of bees because someone always wants to know and usually will ask. 7 to 10 stings per pound is the figure that I use which is pretty easy to figure out the number of bees that would have to sting me. I figure somewhere around 1,500 stings and let them know that I would have to roll around in a hive to get that many.
Pictures are great as well as the tools that we use. I usually go into the class with a hive and a box of beekeeping paraphernalia on a hand truck or two wheel dolly. I can get it all in one trip which lets you know about how much stuff you need to bring. My hive has a deep and a medium super with some foundation as well as drawn comb. It is really handy to have something to show the kids when you are explaining the life cycle of the bee and the activities of the hive. Pictures are great and if you can bring a set. I use the study prints that Dadant sells which are the same prints that we have in the demonstration booth at the fair. Mine are not framed and they are easy to hang up on the chalk board as I talk about them. I generally don't talk about all of them but it is handy to have props to get you back on track if you loose your place in your presentation.
Definitely bring your smoker and your veil. Children love to touch things and see things up close. I also bring a box of burr comb so that there are things to pass around the classroom.
I also bring a box of spoons and a bottle of honey for the kids to taste if I don't have a frame that has not been extracted yet. If you are lucky enough to have a frame of honey you can uncap with a fork and offer samples of real honey right off the face of the comb. It is a real hit!