Introduction
Imagine you are teaching a lesson to your class. The students are engaged and paying attention. Suddenly, a bee flies in through the window and dances around the classroom. Students start screaming and arms are flailing as chaos erupts in your classroom. Bees evoke terror in children, but they serve a greater purpose; they are champion pollinators! Without bees, we would not have one-third of our global supply of food. Imagine life without coffee, apples, peaches, blueberries, tomatoes, avocados, cantaloupe, almonds, eggplants, peppers, and many more delicious and nutritious foods. The bees are in trouble right now, and we need to help them to survive!
Human Centered Design of Biotechnology: Where Will We Be without Bees? is a curriculum unit for upper elementary students focused on using design technology to engineer and model ecosystems. The curriculum unit will address the problem facing the world’s most prolific pollinators: Bees. Nearly 60 years ago, Rachel Carson’s book The Silent Spring was published and warned that pesticides and insecticides would lead to a silent spring without birds to sing. Due to her work, the pesticide, DDT was banned, and so far, birds continue to sing. However, Carson also warned of falls without pollination and fruit. A fruitless fall seems to be a real and imminent possibility. What will be the impact of a fruitless fall? The pollination problem and the impact it will have on humans and the environment is immense.
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