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Here's the buzz on this year's TGFS Guess the Weight contest. Or, rather, the giant buzz:

The 10 people you see in the photo at right are having a picnic around Miss Bee Haven, a 6-foot-long honeybee sculpture (on a pedestal) in the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, adjacent to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility on the west campus.

In guessing the weight, you'll need to take into account all the people (and three puppies), all the picnic fixings, the bee sculpture (pedestal and all) and the other sculpture at back left. The latter sculpture comprises a stack of seven bee boxes, painted on the outside, to depict life outside a beehive.

"The only items not in the weight are the trees and fence," said Tiva Lasiter, coordinator of Staff Assembly, which puts on TGFS. (Also not included, because it is not in the picture: another column of seven bee boxes, with this column painted on the outside to depict life outside a beehive.)

Guess the Weight is a Thank Goodness for Staff tradition. Check out the photo, make a visit to the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, if you like, to check out the sculptures — and then make a guess. Turn it in during the TGFS Picnic on Wednesday, May 11. (You'll also have the opportunity, at the picnic, to see the Guess the Weight photo in person — and then enter your guess.)

The TGFS organizers weighed what they could (people, puppies and picnic fixings) and consulted with Donna Billick, who played a key role in building the sculptures, to come up with weight estimates for the sculptures. Your job now is to guess the "official" total weight (as secretly recorded by the TGFS organizers) — the prize, for whomever comes closest:

More about the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven and Miss Bee Haven

The Department of Entomology planted the half-acre, bee-friendly garden in the fall of 2009, and staged a grand opening celebration in September 2010. Click for more information about the garden and the bee sculpture (including photos). Click for more information about the column of bee boxes (including photos).

Or, you may want to drive out to the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven to see the sculptures for yourself —  to help with your Guess the Weight entry. The garden is open from dawn to dusk, year-round. Go east on Hutchison Drive, turn left on Hopkins Road, then take the first left (Bee Biology Road) and drive to the end.

More about TGFS

Click for information on the picnic menu and tickets, merchandise, raffle tickets and Gunrock Bingo squares, the TGFS Idol Contest, the Partnership Showcase, recreation, transportation and volunteering, and the 2012 logo contest.

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