Purdue University Curriculum For Young People
Beekeeping with Youth
Purdue University is excited to announce a new beekeeping curriculum for young people! Three manuals, along with a facilitator’s guide, are available for youth interested in learning about honey bees and beekeeping.
The introductory guide, Learning About Beekeeping, is geared to elementary school students. It covers the basics of beekeeping: types of bees, the honey and wax they produce, plants that attract bees and beekeeping equipment. Youth are not required to have any bees but will prepare to set up and take care of their own hive. Product code: 4-H-1057-W
The second book, Working with Honey Bees, guides youth to acquire a colony of bees and learn how to care for their hive throughout the year. This manual includes basic beekeeping operations that result in the production of extracted, chunk or cut comb honey. Product code 4-H-1058-W
Advanced Beekeeping is for youth who have knowledge and experience in the basic care of a beehive. Topics focus on managing honey bee colonies, including increasing the number of colonies and splitting colonies, taking care of queens and requeening, seasonal management, troubleshooting the colony, using honey bees in pollination and keeping records. Product code 4-H-1059-W
The 4-H Beekeeping Curriculum Facilitator’s Guide complements the three youth manuals and provides guidance for the adult mentor helping a young person learn more about beekeeping through hands-on, educational experiences. It includes information on experiential learning, youth development and the Next Generation Science Standards, as well as answers to questions asked in the youth manuals. Product code 4-H-1060-W
PDFs of all four manuals may be downloaded for free from The Education Store, Purdue University, https://mdc.itap.purdue.edu/. Enter a product code or “beekeeping” in the Search box.
