LINCOLN, Neb. -- With the age of Nebraska's farmers and beekeepers on the rise, bee enthusiasts are encouraging more young people to check out the Great Plains Master Beekeeping Program. 

The program spans across the midwest, with sites in Grand Island, Lincoln, Omaha, and Scottsbluff. 

Officials with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln said anyone curious should consider a visit to one of the program's open aviaries, where beehives are kept, free of charge.

"They'll get you suited up," said Sheldon Brummel, Research Project Coordinator for UNL. "They'll answer your questions. They'll open up a beehive. They'll show you what's going on inside of there. Because if you go; and you get suited up; and you pop your head into a beehive and start looking at them, I think the bees themselves are going to get you hooked because they're just so fascinating."

Experts said bees and other pollinators contribute to the direct production of up to $577 billion worth of food every year. 

Three out of four food crops depend, at least in part, on pollinators. 

Bee population numbers have been in decline, due to a variety of factors including the loss of habitat to humans, the use of insecticides and climate change.