Statistically, nearly every two hundredth Slovenian keeps bees and soon the number of bee enthusiasts is likely to grow significantly. The Slovenian Beekeeping Association has presented a hive that only exists in virtual reality, allowing beekeeping on a computer. It will be used to train both future beekeepers and those who like honey, but would prefer not to be stung by a bee in order to get it. This is a unique project, both in Slovenia and abroad.

The Čebelarjenje VR / Beekeeping VR app makes it possible to see inside the bee house and the beehive, and help manage a bee colony. You can take a 360° tour of the bee house, move the tools you need to manage a bee colony, open the hive and handle the combs with bees on them, all to the accompaniment of their relaxing buzz.

The app has also been created as a result of the best qualities characterising a bee: hard work and the ability to cooperate well with others. It has been designed in cooperation with secondary school students from Celje. In this way a new generation of IT specialists is being honed that will keep Slovenia among the most developed countries in the world, and at the same time the app can be used as a learning tool by future beekeepers. By working on a computer, they can gain insights into everything that may happen inside a hive. However, even the most accomplished simulation cannot make honey flow from a computer, because there simply can’t be any virtual pollination. Therefore, beekeepers will always be needed in the real world.