Trending in the Hive: Waggle Dance

May 13, 2020

by Aaron Pflug • Kidzeum Staff

Imagine you’re a honeybee, just out-and-about, buzzing around under the bright blue sky of a brilliant Spring morning. Your luck gets even better when you bumble into a vivid patch of flowers oozing with nectar and bursting with pollen!

After gathering as much as you can handle, you make your way anxiously back to the hive. And, when you arrive, what’s the first thing you want to do?

Dance, of course!

Specifically, you’ll be looking to draw a crowd for your waggle dance – which is how you’ll be letting the other honeybees know where you found all that amazing nectar and pollen.

Watching a honeybee perform the characteristic figure-eight pattern can be mesmerizing but may also seem straightforward. However, the waggle dance is far from a simple two-step; and the means honeybees use to identify the locations of food sources is complex.

Of course, the waggle dance is just one of the many ways in which honeybees are fascinating – both in and out of the hive! We can’t wait for the day the bees come back to Kidzeum!

In the meantime, you and the members of your hive can attempt to decipher a waggle dance of your own with this little game.

Or, using various things from around the house, fashion some wings, a stinger, and maybe some antennae to become a honeybee and create your own communicative dance! How would you show, through dance, directions from a child’s bedroom to the kitchen?

Finally, if non-verbal communication seems fascinating, but you aren’t much of a dancer, consider learning the basics of sign language. While having absolutely nothing to do with honeybees or pollinators, learning sign language is, nevertheless, an educational and rewarding endeavor! And no one will know if want to wear the bee costumes you made while you practice!

Let us know how you’re doing! And, if you happen to choreograph some incredible waggle dance moves, definitely share!