Nature through Art: Why Bees Matter

Trade in your snow sleds for nature journals this winter. Join natural science illustrator Sandy McDermott and Drumlin Farm's expert beekeeper, Mel Gadd on February 17 and 18 from 3:00 p.m.- 5:00 p.m. for Whitehead Institute and BioNook's newest online workshop, Nature through Art: Why Bees Matter. The two-part series designed for middle and high school students explores the symbiotic relationship between bees and flowers and how the process of pollination is important for the production of food for all animals and birds in the forest ecosystem.

The workshop integrates science, writing, and drawing with the goal of helping students to observe and connect with the natural world immediately around them. In addition, in a segment led by MIT Museum’s Education Coordinator Brian Mernoff, students will be introduced to scanning electron microscopy (SEM) through the observation of real-life bee and pollen samples using a table-top scanning electron microscope. 

The intention is for students to continue to explore the connection between science and art as part of their regular curricula and daily lives as learners. No drawing experience is necessary.