HiveMind: Honeybees, Democracy & Me

Honeybees have more connections to democracy than you might think.

Location

Main floor

Discover how honeybees run their hives as democracies. 

Learn the fascinating story of how beehives ended up at Old Parliament House. See the tools used by the building’s first unofficial beekeeper, MP William Yates. Explore our floor-to-ceiling honeycomb ‘wall of ideas’.

A woman takes a photo with her mobile photo of her friend touching a wall with colourful hexagons fitting into a wall.


A man peers into a glass display case that has a large round yellow ball of bee wax,


A pinboard with lots of notes and a typewriter in front of it and a sign that reads 'do better than buzzwords'.


A room with green couches, cushions on the floor and books on the bookshelf.


Plan your visit

A quiet audio narration plays in the exhibition. Several walls of the exhibition feature a floor to ceiling honeycomb pattern. The lounge area of the exhibition is a quiet place.

There are books, puzzles and activities using pen and paper.

There is seating in the lounge area of this exhibition.

The ramps leading from the exhibition to the terrace rooms are narrow.