The California Master Beekeeper Program team (from left) Wendy Mather and Kian Nikzad, co-program managers; and Samantha Murray, education and garden coordinator of the UC Davis Bee Haven, get ready to greet the crowd at the Vacaville Museum Guild's annual Children's Party. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The UC Davis-based California Master Beekeeper Program (CAMBP) staffed three tables at the Vacaville Museum Guild's annual children's party to introduce "the wonderful world of bees" to children ages 3 to 9.
CAMBP members displayed a bee observation hive and encouraged them to "find the queen'; answered questions about bees; and engaged them with arts and crafts activities. The “ingredients” included crayons, paper plates, googly eyes, popsicle sticks, papier-mâché, pipe cleaners and other materials
Staffing the bee tables were four CAMBP members: Wendy Mather and Kian Nikzad, co-program managers of CAMBP; Samantha Murray, education and garden coordinator of the UC Davis Bee Haven; and Rick Moehrke, beekeeper and retired Vacaville teacher who is working on his CAMBP master-level beekeeper project.
CAMBP member Rick Moehrke, a retired Vacaville teacher and beekeeper, awaiting questions. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
If the kids found the queen, they could win a prize. If they spun a wheel and answered a question correctly, another prize. The questions included:
How many legs does a bee have?
Why do bees have fuzzy bodies?
What do bees eat?
What is royal jelly and who makes it?
What is the job of a worker bee?
How many eyes does a bee have?
Name a crop that bees pollinate.
The crops included strawberries, which tied right into the strawberry and blueberry ice cream that Fenton's Creamery and Restaurant, Vacaville, donated. Fenton's generously donated 10 3-gallon tubs of ice cream: vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, mint chocolate chip, and blueberry. The museum administrative staff, director Clara Dawson, curator Shelby Sorensen, and office manager Whit Germano, along with Guild Children’s Party Committee member Perry Shull, scooped the ice cream, hailed as an especially welcoming treat on a warm day (temperatures reaches 95 degrees later that day).
The event, held from 10 a.m. to 12:30 on Thursday, Aug. 7, offered a wide variety of activities, including games, arts and crafts, face-painting, chalk art, a petting zoo of farm animals, Mother Goose storytime, books, live music and more.
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Amelia Vasquez-Fuller, 6, of Vacaville, spins the wheel. She answered the question correctly and received a prize. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bee scientist Elina Lastro Niño, professor of Cooperative Extension, Apiculture, founded CAMBP in 2016 and continues to serve as the founding director. She's a member of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology faculty, and the director of the UC Davis Bee Haven, a half-acre bee friendly demonstration garden located next to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility on Bee Biology Road, UC Davis and open from dawn to dusk.
CAMBP offers science-based information to educate stewards and ambassadors for honey bees and beekeeping. It provides "provide science-backed, practical training informed by the latest research and industry best practices." It'a train-the-trainer kind of program offering classes. Beekeepers can advance from the Apprentice level to the Journey and Master levels. If you're not a beekeeper, and just want to learn about bees--and help spread the word and maybe someday become a beekeeper--you can enroll in its Bee Ambassador program.
The Hive, part of Z Food Specialty at 1221 Harter Ave, Woodland, provided honey sticks (straws) at the Children's Party.
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From bee pollination of a strawberry to an end result: strawberry Ice cream from Fenton's. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Pamela King, who chaired the Children's Party, described it as "amazing" and "a great success. We drew more than 300 people, all smiles and happy faces."
“I have never been more proud to be part of this organization,” Clara Dawson told the Guild members in an email on Friday. “The turnout was absolutely PHENOMENAL!” She mentioned the more than “300 smiling faces” who enjoyed arts and crafts, the Vaca Valley Grange petting zoo, Fenton’s ice cream, the hot dog lunch, the School of Rock musicians, the first responder participants (Vacaville firefighters, Vacaville police, Sheriff’s Office and California Highway Patrol) the “story time with Mother Goose (Bonnie Moreno)” and the UC Davis-based California Master Beekeeper Program with its bee observation hive, microscopes, and art and craft supplies.
The Vaca Valley Grange, No. 298, provided its traditional petting zoo, which included a 25-year-old donkey named Stanley; two goats named Loretta and Cora, a rabbit named Raven, a Dixon May Fair championship lab named Hank, and a chicken named Leia. Doing "the meet and greet" in one corner were Grange members Michelle Mallory and her daughter, Peyton, and Brantley Mason, while two other Grange members, Tina Currie and her daughter, Macey, introduced their donkey, lab and the chicken.
Kids delighted in petting and brushing Stanley. “I think Stanley had a great time,” said Tina. Her daughter showed the lab at the 2025 Dixon May Fair and won Senior Dog Showmanship.”They have won several Grand Champion buckles,” Tina said, adding that “The Grange is such a wonderful way for the kids to learn about all sorts of things and build confidence in themselves and gives them opportunities to give back to the community.”
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Samantha Murray with Stanley the Donkey, owned by Tina Currie of the Vaca Valley Grange. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
“Stanley loves to eat, hang out with his donkey friend and loves to spend time with our kids and me,” Tina commented. “He is a terrible helper and will stand on the rake or the shovel at any given chance when we are cleaning stalls. Stanley prefers to ride in a horse trailer but has also ridden in several mini-vans and even in the back of my SUV! Stanley has been the donkey for the New Hope Live Bethlehem for eight or nine years now and he has also been in multiple commercials for things like Nest Security Cameras and Doritos Chips, but he is mostly our beloved long-eared friend.”
"We couldn't do this without the donors," King said. The list of donors and/or participants included Vacaville Fire Department (major donor), Vacaville Police Department, Solano County Sheriff’s Office, California Highway Patrol, Fenton’s, Jelly Belly, Vaca Valley Grange, Joyful Art Center, School of Rock, Solano Public Library, Solano County Farm Bureau, California Master Beekeeper Program, the Hive of Woodland, Caramel Company, and te Brazelton Ranch (hay bales). TLC’s “Create with Passion,” Rainbow Girls provided face painting; The Nugget donated paper bags, and Costco, a gift card. The CHP contributed bicycle helmets and the Solano Library gifted books.
Although the Vacaville Museum Guild launched the Children’s Party in 1984, the price of tickets, $3, remains the same. It is more of a "fun-raising" party than a fund-raising party.
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Wendy Mather (foreground) and Kian Nikzad (wearing bee costume), co-program managers of CAMBP, and CAMBP member Rick Moehrke (blue shirt) talk to the crowd. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Noah Thurston, 6, and his sister Evie, 4, look for the queen bee in the observation hive. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
