Blue Honey

Ages: 7-11
Contributor:
Sam Collins

A small bee, allergic to pollen, discovers an extraordinary product that will dramatically impact the life of the hive…

Watch this video with your children, and then try some of our teaching and activity ideas below.

Teaching Ideas and Resources:

This film was inspired by a news story. Give the children a selection of interesting headlines to base a story on.
Write a news report on the incident and the effect it has had on the beekeeper.
Make a list of other books and films about insects (Antz, A Bug’s Life, Bee Movie etc.) What similarities and differences can you find?
Write an explanation text about how honey is produced.
Write a letter from the beekeeper to the waste plant complaining about the blue waste.
Make a storyboard of the film.

Research what bees need to survive and produce a fact file about their habitat.
Discuss allergies, who has them, what triggers them, and what the symptoms are. What steps do you take to avoid having an allergic reaction? What do you do if you do have a reaction?
Make a short film or presentation about how bees make honey.

The team used green screen technology to animate the film – there are some pictures on the film’s website. Try making your own green-screen videos using Doink or a similar program.

The film shows the inside of the hive as a production line. Watch this video showing how bread is made on a production line and make a list of the different processes that happen. How is it different from making bread by hand?

Design a poster for the film.
Visit the Saatchi Art Bee collection and make your own version of some of the artworks there.
Try this idea to make bee hive cells from paper towel tubes.

Listen to Flight of the Bumblebee by Rimsky-Korsakov. Listen to how the music is passed around between the different instruments (violins, flutes, clarinets etc.) Compose your own version.

Research the history of beekeeping and make a timeline. This site has lots of useful information.

The original French title of this film is “Miel Blue”. Practice using colours in French by adding a colour word to a noun. Remember that the word order is different to English; the noun comes before the adjective.

Whose fault do you think the blue honey is? What should be done about it?
The plant did not intend to harm the bees. Sometimes, actions have unintended consequences. When have you done something that had an unintended consequence? How did you put it right?