INDIANA STATE MUSEUM BEEHIVES

At the Indiana State Museum you’ll find hives on the east-side balcony overlooking the Watanabe Family Gardens. While you can’t see them from inside the museum, you can step out to the gardens and find a sign pointing up to the hives.

These bees pollinate the mixture of prairie and shade-tolerant native plants in the gardens below, but they can travel up to four miles from their hives to pollinate plants. They gather the pollen and nectar from the plants and use the nectar to either draw comb (wax) or store as honey.

We can all play a role in protecting and supporting Indiana’s pollinators. Bee Welcoming to Indiana’s Pollinators is a conservation and preservation effort made possible by our partners at Corteva Agriscience. The program focuses on cultivating the landscapes and gardens at each of our 12 locations across the state to support native plants and maintain diverse habitats to attract and support pollinators. When you visit, you’ll learn about the importance of protecting bees, birds and butterflies and how all Hoosiers can play a role in habitat conservation and restoration, which creates a welcoming space for these important pollinators.

Learn more about bees and see photos of past hives in our blog, Bee-lieve it or not: Five things to know about honey bees.