If you go
› What: Honey Harvest› Where: Creative Discovery Museum, 321 Chestnut St.› When: Noon-4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, July 29-30› Admission: Free with regular museum admission of $13.95› For more information: 423-756-2738
The Creative Discovery Museum will be buzzing with beekeepers and guests when the 17th annual Honey Harvest is held at the children's museum on Saturday and Sunday, July 29-30.
The Honey Harvest is a museum celebration with regional beekeepers who help little guests learn the importance of bees and how honey is made.
Between noon and 4 p.m. each day, visitors can make their own honey lip balm, beeswax candle and soap to take home. They can taste 14 varieties of honey in Culinary Corner or take part in a community art project creating a bee mural.
Guests can meet a beekeeper at the Observation Hive at either 1, 2 or 3 p.m. (weather permitting) and watch honey extractions at 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30 p.m.
Jason Groppel, past president of the Montgomery County Beekeeper Association, harvests honey from a comb during a demonstration at last year's Honey Harvest."There's nothing like hearing the busy buzz of honeybees at work in their hive," says Karen Dewhirst, Creative Discovery Museum's science manager. "The entire museum comes to life with hundreds of families happily exploring the world of honeybees."
After its successful premiere last year, the museum will again host a Welsh Honey and Hive product show that will take place in the Rainbow Room both days. Guests will see prize-winning honey, honey-related products and be able to purchase products made by regional beekeepers.
Organizations participating in this year's Honey Harvest include the Chattanooga Beekeepers Association, Cherokee Beekeepers Association, Highland Rim Beekeepers Association, Ocoee Beekeepers Association, Tennessee Valley Beekeepers Association and Tri-State Beekeepers Association.
Honeybees have long been a part of the museum's exhibits. Buzz Alley opened in 2011 as a permanent museum exhibit showcasing the honeybee as a pollinator. Buzz Alley also highlights the relationship between bees and wildflowers and the importance of beekeeping to help sustain a healthy ecosystem.