Eat like a Bee
Explore how a bee eats and learn about pollination!
What You Need
Materials per student
- Paper (8 1/2 x 11)
- Paper straw
- Small piece of soft Velcro
- Paper flower
- Rubber band
- Scissors
Guide:
Safety Notes
Ensure you are familiar with Let's Talk Science's precautions with respect to safe virtual outreach to youth.
What To Do
Each student will:
- Cut a piece of paper in half (lengthwise).
- Fold the two sides towards the middle of the paper (to create flaps).
- Tape the middle down to keep the flaps in place.
- Tape or glue a small flap down at one of the ends.
- Using the flap, roll the paper all the way to the other end to create a ball and hold it in place with a rubber band and wait for at least one hour.
- Remove the rubber band, and put the paper straw at the end of the ball of paper with an opening and glue it or tape it in place.
- Seal the opening using tape or glue. This is the proboscis.
- Cut out a paper flower.
- Remove the backing from the piece of Velcro and stick it in the middle of the flower. This is pretend nectar.
- Put the other piece of Velcro at the bottom end of the blower.
- Blow into their blower (proboscis) and try to collect nectar by having the Velcro on the blower stick to the Velcro on the flower.
Discovery
A bee has a special mouth part called a "proboscis". The proboscis is rolled up and unrolls when the bee needs to get deep into a flower for nectar and it acts like a straw. The blower is the proboscis and the nectar is the Velcro in the centre of the paper flower. Nectar is a type of sugar.
When bees gather nectar, they pick up pollen on their bodies and take it from one flower to another flower. This is called pollination and is needed for a plant to make fruit.
What's Happening?
A bee has a special mouth part called a "proboscis". The proboscis is rolled up and unrolls when the bee needs to get deep into a flower for nectar and it acts like a straw. The blower is the proboscis and the nectar is the Velcro in the centre of the paper flower. Nectar is a type of sugar.
Why Does It Matter?
When bees gather nectar, they pick up pollen on their bodies and take it from one flower to another flower. This is called pollination and is needed for a plant to make fruit.
