Step Inside the Hive this Summer

ROM’s new immersive exhibition tells a story 120 million years in the making. BEES: A Story of Survival was designed as a collaboration between the National Museums Liverpool in the U.K. and award-winning British artist Wolfgang Buttress. Now, the exhibition is making its North American debut at ROM from May 16 to October 18, 2026—with a Canadian twist. 

Bees have been on the planet since the time of dinosaurs. Today, there are more than 20,000 species worldwide. But as the planet warms up and the effects of climate change become more palpable, our changing environment is threatening their existence—and ours. Bees are essential to the planet’s biodiversity, playing a key role in the reproduction of flowering plants and food crops. Indeed, about a third of the world’s food production depends on bees, according to the UN, which directly impacts food security. 

“This exhibition is unlike any other I’ve worked on so far because it brings together scientific knowledge and sensory experience in a very powerful way,” says Winona McGregor, Interpretive Planner at ROM. “It shares important information about bees and their ecological role, but it also uses immersive design, atmosphere, and sensory storytelling to help visitors feel that message rather than simply learn it.” 

British artist and sculptor Wolfgang Buttress collaborated with bee communication expert Professor Martin Bencsik from Nottingham Trent University, alongside scientists, architects, and musicians, to create multi-sensory artworks that bridge art and science. Buttress’s previous works, which draw inspiration from the natural world to explore scientific discoveries, have been showcased on four continents.

With this exhibition, visitors will be transported into a bee’s world through large-scale digital projections, soundscapes, and digital interactive experiences, tracing a route through meadows and other bee habitats to a larger-than-life hive. “At its heart, this exhibition centres on the essential roles bees play,” says McGregor. “When bees struggle, the ecosystems we depend on struggle too.” 

The exhibition starts with a glimpse into the complex anatomy of a bee. From there, the experience becomes more immersive, drawing visitors into the world of bees. “The experience is designed to make the world feel immediate and alive, with encounters that you move through and feel,” says McGregor. 

Moving through eight interactive sections, visitors will learn about hive life, as well as the role of bees in nature, their importance to humans, and the many threats to their survival. 

“Bees are considered keystone species for terrestrial ecosystems, contributing to both environmental well-being and human survival,” says Antonia Guidotti, Entomology Collections Technician at ROM.

While birds, monkeys, and even the wind can pollinate, bees are the world’s most efficient pollinators, critical to the reproduction of most wild plants. This supports insects, which in turn supports birds, animals, and humans. “Visitors will learn about bees, their diversity, behaviour, evolution, and association with humans in a fun and entertaining way,” she says.

For example, in one section, visitors will follow a pollen light trail that leads to a holographic plinth with a 3D model of a bee pollinating a flower. In another, stylized honeycomb structures invite visitors inside, and bone conductors use vibration to mimic what it’s like to hear like a bee. Soundscapes developed by the artist with musical ensemble Karman Line Collective pair musical instruments with the audio recordings of 40,000 bees, creating an audio sensory hum to accompany one’s journey through the exhibition.

While the great majority of bees are solitary, this exhibition focuses largely on Western Honey Bees, a highly organized social species that lives in colonies composed of a queen, workers, and sometimes drones. “They exhibit eusocial behaviour such as nest sharing, overlapping generations, and cooperative brood care. This, in combination with their hive-building architecture, ability to communicate, and honey production, makes them especially compelling subjects for visitors,” says Doug Currie, Senior Curator of Entomology and Co-Curator for the exhibition at ROM. 

While the Canadian debut of BEES: A Story of Survival stays true to the artist’s vision, it also incorporates a Canadian perspective, including specimens of local bees from collections at ROM. “One of the most exciting things about bees is that the more closely you look, the more diversity you find,” says McGregor. “We wanted to offer a closer look and a new perspective on these local species. It was important to include specimens that highlight just how diverse these animals are in size, shape, and colour.”

Bees play a significant role in ecosystems right here in Canada, and the exhibition introduces a diverse group of native pollinators. “Canada is home to more than 800 species of bees, of which over 350 species live in the Greater Toronto Area,” says Currie. One especially notable local bee is the Bicolored Striped Sweat Bee, which is Toronto’s official bee. The exhibition also showcases a 15- to 30-million- year-old bee fossil from the Invertebrate Palaeontology collection at ROM. 

The main threats to local bees include habitat loss, pesticide use, climate change, pathogen spillover from managed bees, and competition with non-native bees.

 “I hope visitors feel a sense of connection to bees as they move through the exhibition and begin to think about what they can do to help them,” says McGregor. “So often, environmental issues can feel too big or too far away for any one person to make a difference. But bees are all around us, and even small actions can have a meaningful impact.” 

The exhibition includes takeaways on what can be done to protect threatened bees that are endemic to Ontario. For example, planting native flowers, avoiding pesticides, and choosing not to use bug-zapping lights “can make a real difference for the bees that live in your yard or visit your balcony,” she says. For those who want to take it a step further, they can support local conservation groups or join community science initiatives like Bumble Bee Watch. 

BEES: A Story of Survival invites people to think differently about an animal they may encounter every day without fully noticing, says McGregor. “I think visitors will leave with a deeper appreciation for bees, a stronger sense of connection to the natural world, and a better understanding of how their own choices can make a difference.”

Vawn Himmelsbach is a veteran journalist who covers everything from tech to travel.