science fair project

[Jerrymac]

I guess this is the right place to place this.
A week or so ago I received this Email;

Mr. Simmons,
 
My 4th grade daughter is doing a science fair experiment and needs 1 or 2 live bees. The man in New Mexico who was going to provide them has been unable to help us. Is there a possibility you have some that you would give to (A little girl's name) for her project use? I would be happy to pick them up today or tomorrow, as the science fair is fast approaching. Our emergency doesn't create YOUR emergency, but we would be VERY grateful for any help you can provide.

(And the rest left out for privacy reasons)

So I called a number she gave me to find out what all the hubbub was. They had read those articles of where the military was seeing if bees could sniff out explosive devises. So I placed a bit of comb in a jar and poured some honey on the comb. I then just simply places the open jar in front of the entrance to a hive and in seconds I had six bees fly right into the jar. They got the bees and took them off to do their experiments. Here is what has happened to date.

Jerry,
 
Mom (the girls grandmother)said she got the bees and you put some comb in there for them ...
thank you very much! I'm picking it up from her tomorrow and I'll
definitely let you know how the tests go. I appreciate the advice on keeping
them away from the food for a day for better results. We'll do that and
see how it goes.
 
I don't know if you saw the article in the Lubbock A-J on which Little girls name
is basing her experiment. It told of the military's study to use bees
to detect bombs by watching them closely. Evidently, when they detect
gunpowder or an explosive of some kind, they "stick out their tongue". I
can't remember if the Army used zoom cameras to observe the reaction of
bees from a distance or what. I thought it would be a pretty unusual
experiment to test with different scents and see if there is a
difference. I'll take some photos and be sure that Little girls name shares her results
with you. It's fairly unlikely that she will advance to the regional fair
at Texas Tech, but should she make it that far, perhaps we'll ask you
for a few more bees for that day at the end of March. Would you permit
her to use your name as her "bee expert" in her research paper?
 
Thanks again for your help!

I replied that I bet the little girl would go to the regional fair. I also mentioned I was far from being an expert, adviser maybe, or bee supplier but that she could use my name. Here is whet I just received;

Jerry,
 
Well, the girls won 1st place and are going to Tech, but need some revisions. They did have a tough time measuring reaction to various substances. We're going to look up different ways in which bees might show "reaction" and retry the experiment. We still have 3 bees living, so we'll retest this week. Thanks for your help and if you think of anything else they might try, please let us know.

I will post the out come when I receive it. But does anyone have any suggestions as she asked?
 
 

[Understudy]

Give her more bees.

That was awesome you helping her out.

It sound like it is time for a control group of bees and a test group.

They may also need a better camera. even a high speed camera they can play back at a slower speed. A timestamp or stopwatch of somekind.

Sincerely,
Brendhan

[drobbins]

I just purchased a camcorder
It's a pretty snazzy gizmo that I'm still learning to use but it looks like it can function as a pretty basic high speed camera
it's shooting 30 frames a second and the software that comes with it will let you pick em out one by one
maybe if they know someone with such a gadget (they getting pretty common) they could tape their experiment and have video data to look at afterwards

Dave

[Jerrymac]

The mother that sent me those emails has viewed this page and is taking some of you guys advise.

Jerry,
 
I went to the forum tonight and read the suggestions ... very helpful
information. I just purchased a camcorder with a hard drive that does
have a way to view the video that may let the girls see more.
 
I do not think any of the bees are still alive, so I may have to beg
for more bees! I think I'll play with my camera a bit first and be sure
we have several ideas to try before asking for them. Maybe that way, the
kids can get all kinds of experiments done with the same set!

Also if you beg hard enough I'm sure she will give you the whole story.... Yep she signed up to be a member here.

[Understudy]

Nice job.

Now give her a whole hive. :)

Sincerely,
Brendhan

[KONASDAD]

The company doing research for the army also makes that machine for a tractor to warn the operator that a swarm was run over. They are from Montana and advertise in the bee mags. Cant recall name . Have class contact this company and ask what the bees do when they smell bombs.

[livetrappingbymatt]

awesome! great to have so much interest!
you've done a great service helping with this project.
bob

[Sean Kelly]

The company doing research for the army also makes that machine for a tractor to warn the operator that a swarm was run over.

If I ran over a swarm with my tractor, I think I'd put it in high gear and get the heck out (then come back later with gear to catch the swarm if they didnt all die)!

What a cool project she is doing!  I agree with Understudy, get them a hive!!!  :-)  I hope they win 1st in state too!!!

Sean