Join us for Bee Palooza 2024, a fun afternoon dedicated to Michigan’s pollinators and plants! This year’s theme, "Bee the Change," focuses on ground-nesting bees and restoring native prairies. Don’t miss out on this exciting event at the MSU Horticultural Gardens in East Lansing, Michigan
2024 Bee Palooza Map of Stations and Activities
Station 1: Welcome Center – Grab your bee passport to explore the event and enter the drawing up until 3:30 PM. Be present to win prizes at 3:30 PM!
Station 2: Gardening for Pollinators - Learn how best to help pollinators by providing them with blooming plants in the garden all season long and make your own native Michigan seed balls!
Station 3: Social Bees – Observe different social bees, pet some cute fuzzy bees without fear of being stung - because male bees don't have stingers, and look inside their colonies & find the queen!
Station 4: Flora Friends – Discover non-bee pollinators like flies, butterflies, and more! Hold a live insect from the MSU Bug House.
Station 5: Bees Underground - learn about the interesting lives of solitary bees, nesting in the ground, and our mascot the pure green sweat bee!
Station 6: Cavity Nesting Bees – Explore different bees and wasps that nest in cavities and how to create habitat for these different bees.
Station 7: Science of Pollination - learn how plants and pollinators depend on one another and how fruits, nuts, and seeds are made; this is also where you can get a free scoop of ice cream!
Station 8: Beecome a Pollinator - pretend to be a pollinator with free face-painting and other activities designed especially for the young at heart.
Station 2: Gardening for Pollinators - Learn how best to help pollinators by providing them with blooming plants in the garden all season long and make your own native Michigan seed balls!
Station 3: Social Bees – Observe different social bees, pet some cute fuzzy bees without fear of being stung - because male bees don't have stingers, and look inside their colonies & find the queen!
Station 4: Flora Friends – Discover non-bee pollinators like flies, butterflies, and more! Hold a live insect from the MSU Bug House.
Station 5: Bees Underground - learn about the interesting lives of solitary bees, nesting in the ground, and our mascot the pure green sweat bee!
Station 6: Cavity Nesting Bees – Explore different bees and wasps that nest in cavities and how to create habitat for these different bees.
Station 7: Science of Pollination - learn how plants and pollinators depend on one another and how fruits, nuts, and seeds are made; this is also where you can get a free scoop of ice cream!
Station 8: Beecome a Pollinator - pretend to be a pollinator with free face-painting and other activities designed especially for the young at heart.
What is MSU Bee Palooza?
Bee Palooza is a celebration of pollinators and the promotion of pollinator stewardship. Starting in 2012 in celebration of National Pollinator Week, members of the Department of Entomology at Michigan State University organized the first Bee Palooza that included interactive activities for all ages to increase awareness about pollinators and provide attendees with tips on what they can do to help. Visitors from across the region enjoyed stations set up around the garden displaying honey bee and bumble bee colonies, examples of wild Michigan bees, wild bee hotels, plants and gardening practices to support pollinators. This event was held annually from 2012-2019 with a virtual version held in 2020. A reboot of the event was held in August of 2023.
Key definitions:
Pollinators are animals that move pollen between flowers, resulting in seeds, nuts, and fruits. Most bees, some other insects, some birds, and some bats are pollinators.
Pollinator stewardship is when humans play an active part in protecting and providing natural resources that pollinators need - including clean water and food (aka nectar and pollen).
Pollinator stewardship is when humans play an active part in protecting and providing natural resources that pollinators need - including clean water and food (aka nectar and pollen).