The author describes this book as “52 family- friendly activities and experiments exploring the life of the hive”. The “labs” in the book contain a list of materials, step-by-step processes, ways to extend the activities, suggestions for young children, and facts about honeybees.

Although the labs are stand-alone projects, in many cases they complement and enhance each other. Because some of the items required for the labs are the products of the hive (honey, pollen, propolis, and beeswax) the beekeeper can collect, gather, scrape and extract these materials from his/her own hive. Non-beekeepers can purchase the requirements from a local beekeeper, health food store or online.

The activities in this book are ideal for enhancing the exploration, curiosity and learning about bees and beekeeping as a family.

Reviewed by Barbara Horwood