Kids Learn Why Bees Are Awesome | National Geographic

Honeybees are our most efficient and effective pollinators, so they pollinate lots of fruits and vegetables. We've invited a classroom full of DC kids to come down here and put on the bee veil and a bee suit for protection. Uh, we'll open up beehives and get them into the hive like a beekeeper.

I was like nervous; I thought that it was like, "Ah, did they invite me?" The next time we go, we could not be afraid. A lot of kids are afraid of bees, and one of the things we want these kids to understand is that bees are immensely valuable parts of the ecosystem. They help produce the food we eat, and they're like, when they're moving, they're like not straight; they're like moving and moving around very quickly and bumpy.

We bring an observation hive to the classroom program. You get the oohs and the aahs from all the kids. They can see the activity of the honeybees crawling around on the comb. They can find the queen, which we have usually marked. Do you see the shiny nectar?

A couple of years after the First Lady, Mrs. Obama, established a vegetable garden on the South Lawn of the White House, she decided to establish a pollinator garden as well and to set up a honeybee hive. Butterflies, bats, bees, birds— all those that get attracted to the garden.

I think honeybees make a great vehicle to open young eyes to what's happening in nature; it's not just random chaos. There's beauty and order to it, and I think this little creature creates a great opportunity to have children see that. Thank you so much.