Exhibit 'bees: Tiny Insect, Big Impact’ Buzzes With Fun

The show is designed to teach families about the diversity of California’s native bee species, about the links between bees and our food supply and how to become a backyard conservationist. Through interactive exhibits, visitors can learn how to extract honey from a hive, catch a swarm or build bee hotels out of bamboo. “Bees are having a moment right now,” said Sarah Seiter, the museum’s associate curator of natural sciences. Visitors can lift the sheets one at a time, subtracting the tomatoes, avocados and cilantro from the tacos to get an idea of how bland our plates would be without bees. Seiter ran recordings of bees buzzing at different frequencies through software that matched the sound to musical notes, then built a sound station where visitors can listen to the tones. Visitors can try using an artificial pollinator: a vibrating wand, similar in shape to an electric toothbrush, that some farmers are now using to pass pollen between plants. California farmers spent more than $20 million on rental bees to pollinate their crops in 2013 because of declining bee populations. Inside some of the hexagons, kids can discover representations of the parasites and bacteria that attack bees, such as foulbrood and the varroa mite. The last room in the show is the Action Lounge, with low-slung white leather couches on which to relax and watch a TED Talk on bees or explore apps dedicated to bee-friendly garden design.