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Bee exhibit opens at Heritage Farm
Joe Murphy, left, of Trifecta Productions, Mike Perry, center, of Heritage Farm Museum and Village, and W.Va. Speaker of the House Richard Thompson talk as part of Heritage Farm Museum and Village's presentation of its "History of Appalachia Interactive Beekeeping Exhibit" on Friday, Oct. 26, 2012.
Purchase this photoHUNTINGTON -- Bee enthusiasts and others opened a new exhibit Friday at Heritage Farm Museum & Village in Huntington. It offers a multi-faceted approach to teach all generations about the importance of honey bees to the nation's plant and food production.
The long-term exhibit includes an interactive touch screen with a full array of videos, educational quizzes and graphics. A series of webcams link the display to a working beehive, three flower gardens and a demonstration vegetable garden.
Together, those elements connect today's technology with actual, real-life demonstrations to expose children and adults to the honey bee's role in everyday life.
The exhibit brings to reality a dream which has been a couple years in the making for the Cabell Wayne Beekeepers Association. Its members believe Heritage Farm represented the best spot, said Dan O'Hanlon, the beekeepers' secretary and treasurer.
"You're teaching kids anyway, so we just wanted to add the bee component and make it come alive," he said.
That dream was funded with taxpayer dollars allocated to the state Agriculture Commission by the Legislature with leadership from House Speaker Rick Thompson, D-Wayne. Trifecta Productions provided the technology support.
Other participants include Perennial Favorites Greenhouse of Huntington and Cabell Midland High School's Future Farmers of America.
