The Big Picture: Ruud Kleinpaste - bees, bugs, birds and breakfast

Go exploring with Ruud and his very competent assistant Claudia May from Auckland's Remuera Intermediate School and discover how our bees, bugs, birds, lizards and bats all have their own ways of shifting pollen from one flower to another, Just as well, otherwise we wouldn't have any fruit, veggies or honey to eat.

Pollination is very important to plants because it gives them fruit, seeds, nuts and basically baby plants - its all about reproduction.

We also have a school curriculum-linked inquiry map for primary teachers. Try it out and tell us what you think on our online form.

Inquiry map

Now you've heard what Bugman has to say about pollination, use the inquiry map to lead an integrated science and social science inquiry with your class. The learning context is pollination.

The map is designed to help you use this exciting context to develop children's ability to think, ask questions, express their values, consider values and viewpoints of others, make ethical decisions and take action.

Before using the inquiry map, be sure to watch the Aroha and Manaaki video clips with your class. Here, storyteller Joe Harawira introduces these core traditional Māori values. This is a great lead in to children exploring the values they and others hold about the natural world around them.

Bees, bugs, birds and breakfast inquiry map (PDF, 209K)

Fill in the online feedback form

Used the inquiry map? Tell us what you think of it using the online form.