Editor’s note: This story was written by Washburn student Braden Elliott, age 12, with contributions from classmates Alyssa Shackett, Weldon McPherson and Castor Mendoza.
WASHBURN, Maine — On July 18 in Washburn, the 21st Century Summer Program hosted Mrs. Reed, a local high school science teacher, and her son Jensen, who gave a presentation to the students and staff.
To start off the presentation, Mrs. Reed talked about the different kinds of bees: queen, drones, workers and the nurses. She then put on a video of bees pollinating the flowers.
The presenter spoke about the pollen sacs on the legs, and after that the group watched a video of a family going to the bee farm.
Mrs. Reed showed some pictures of bee boxes at her house. Next, she chose some students to take out one cheese curl out of three bags and then went around the room with a napkin and wiped off their hands: the cheesy residue looked like pollen on a flower.
The speaker then chose people to put on the bee suits.
The students asked many questions about the life and habits of honeybees. Mrs. Reed presented wax she collected at her bee boxes, and gave students an opportunity to taste samples of honey produced by her bees.
The passing of honey beeswax lotion concluded the presentation. Students agreed it was a very informative and entertaining event.
