Prepare to be “bee-witched” this spring with the Cincinnati Art Museum’s new beehives that are set to be installed mid-April.
These permanent “buzzy” residents soon will call the museum grounds their home, and the hives will be situated alongside a pollinator garden on the west side of the Longworth administrative wing.
The Cincinnati Art Museum has partnered with the Queen City Pollinator Project to make this possible, and the museum’s focus on community wellness makes the new beehives a fitting attraction.
Honey bees are considered “friendly” creatures, and they rarely sting humans. They can travel up to 3 miles from their hives, meaning these bees may just be spotted across Cincinnati.
“Urban spaces provide a unique opportunity to support pollinators, as well as create educational opportunities for all involved,” Carrie Driehaus, co-founder at Queen City Pollinator Project, says in a press release. “We are sure everyone who sees the bees will be ‘pollen’ in love.”
Honey bees and other pollinators have struggled with recent declines in their population. The installation of hives can help pollinators repopulate and thrive once more.
Museum guests will have the chance to “adopt a bee” for a $5 or $10 donation May 3-31. These donations will allow the public to name one of the 60,000 bees that will be in the museum’s care.
The museum’s Women’s Committee is sponsoring the hive program, and the Green Team, which consists of museum staff members, will also support the project.
For more info, visit https://cincinnatiartmuseum.org/bees.
