Be a Bee
Make a simple bee costume and simulate pollination with paper flowers and pom-poms to learn how bees help plants grow.
Step-by-step guide to Be a Bee
How Do Bees Make Honey? | The Science of Food! | SciShow Kids
Step 1
Gather all materials and place them on a table within reach.
Step 2
Lay the yellow T-shirt flat on the table.
Step 3
Add black tape across the shirt to make bee stripes.
Step 4
Cut two large oval wing shapes from the paper.
Step 5
Decorate each wing using the coloring materials.
Step 6
Attach the wings to the back of the shirt with tape or glue.
Step 7
Twist two pipe cleaners into springy antennae shapes.
Step 8
Secure the antennae to the headband.
Step 9
Cut several flower shapes from the paper.
Step 10
Decorate the paper flowers with the coloring materials.
Step 11
Put a small pile of pom-poms in the bowl to be your pollen.
Step 12
Stick one pom-pom onto the front of your shirt with a small piece of tape to act as pollen on the bee.
Step 13
Put on your bee shirt and headband to become a buzzing bee.
Step 14
Visit each paper flower and press the pom-pom gently onto the flower centers to transfer pollen and simulate pollination.
Step 15
Share your finished bee costume and pollination activity on DIY.org.
Help!?
What can we use if we don't have black tape or a yellow T-shirt?
If you don't have black tape, cut black construction paper into strips and glue or tape them across the shirt, and if you don't have a yellow T-shirt use a light-colored shirt and color it with washable fabric paint or markers before adding the stripes.
The paper wings keep falling off the shirt — how can I fix that?
Fold a small flap at the base of each paper wing and tape or glue that flap to the inside of the shirt, or reinforce the taped attachment on the back of the shirt with a dab of strong craft glue or a safety pin through the tape.
How can I adapt the activity for younger toddlers or older kids?
For toddlers, pre-cut the wings and flowers and let them decorate with stickers while adults attach the wings and antennae, and for older kids let them design layered paper wings, sew or add elastic straps to the shirt, and create rules for a competitive pollen-collecting game with the bowl of pom-poms.
How can we enhance or personalize the bee costume and pollination game?
Personalize the yellow T-shirt and paper wings with glitter glue or fabric paint, add small battery LED lights to the wings for sparkle, make the paper flowers into a timed pollen scavenger hunt with pom-poms, and then share photos and instructions on DIY.org.
Watch videos on how to Be a Bee
Honey Bees Make Honey ... and Bread? | Deep Look
3 Videos
Honey Bees Make Honey ... and Bread? | Deep Look
How Do Bees Make Honey?
How Do Bees Use Electricity For Pollination? | Learn Pollination | BYJU'S Now We Know
Facts about bees and pollination
🐝 A single honeybee can visit thousands of flowers in a day to collect nectar and pollen!
🌸 About one-third of the food we eat depends on pollinators like bees to help plants grow.
🍯 One worker honeybee produces roughly 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in its whole life.
🌼 Many flowers have bright colors and special patterns called nectar guides that point bees to the pollen.
🔊 Bumblebees use 'buzz pollination'—they vibrate their bodies to shake pollen loose from some flowers.
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