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Department of Entomology

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Bees Create a Buzz with Annual 4-H Challenge

May. 4, 2016
4-H honey bee challenge

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Honeybees don’t just buzz. They dance.

And thousands of students in Ohio and seven other states will learn why that’s a vital aspect of honeybee pollination as they participate in this year’s 4-H Ag Innovators Experience, the Honey Bee Challenge.

The challenge was developed by specialists with Ohio State University Extension.

It’s the third consecutive year that OSU Extension has developed the challenge used for the annual innovators experience, sponsored by the National 4-H Council and Monsanto Company.

“There’s a lot of interest and concern about honeybees,” said Beth Hecht, grant manager for the National 4-H Council. “This topic seemed like a natural for our annual challenge.”

Ohio 4-H hosted the 2016 challenge kickoff in April with middle school students from Clear Fork Local Schools in Morrow County. Ohio 4-H is the youth development arm of OSU Extension, which provides outreach for the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences of The Ohio State University.

On May 7, 100 teens will come to Columbus to be trained to facilitate the challenge for an estimated 3,200 students in 19 Ohio counties this spring and summer. Similar efforts will take place in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri and Nebraska to reach a total of 10,000 students across the eight states (full story here).