This is a guide to three outreach activities that could be useful for public engagement work connected with pollen – especially activities using 3D pollen models. It was prepared by Alison Cryan, an outreach specialist, together with researchers at the University of Reading, as part of an 'Embedding Engagement' small grant from the UK's Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) in late 2019 and early 2020.

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The three activities included are:

• Pollen 101, an introduction to the fundamentals of pollen and its biological role, through a flower dissection,

• Honey Hunters, which explores pollen's importance in producing and identifying honey,

• Fossil Pollen Time Machine, which looks at how fossil pollen in a simulated sediment core can reveal an ecosystem's history.

For each activity, the guide has key science messages that could be conveyed, suggested equipment and instructions for activities, and some note-worthy considerations for delivery.

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The outreach guide was initially made available to download on request so we could gather feedback from potential users, but the guide is now available to view or download for free below. (Please ignore all references to beta versions, feedback, surveys, etc. – the arrival of Covid-19 to the UK in early 2020 wreaked havoc on the end of the project, and the document hasn't been updated!) That said, it's always nice to hear about how the models are being used, so if you have feedback about the activities in this guide, please do get in touch!

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