‘The Power of Honey: Food, Finance and the Golden Age of Fraud’ is a new temporary exhibition at the Bank of England Museum, running until the 28th August 2026.
At the centre of the exhibition is the Bee-nomics Inspection Hive, a custom-built observation hive that brings living bees into the Museum. Visitors are invited to watch the colony patrol, communicate, protect resources and respond to risk, transforming the hive into a vivid living model for the systems of vigilance that underpin both food supply chains and financial protection.
Through live bees, honey-smelling challenges, UV banknote investigations, historic food fraud, ancient artefacts and family trails, the exhibition explores how trust is built, protected and deceived. It draws unexpected connections between the symbolic role of the hive in the Bank of England’s visual language, the global trade in honey, and the behavioural systems used to detect suspicious activity in modern finance.
- This exhibition, and the entire Bank of England Museum, is free to visit with no booking required (except for groups of over 15 people).
- For related events, such as the Museum Lates, booking online is recommended to secure your place. Other events, including associated workshops, require booking.
- There is airport-style security at the Museum’s entrance.
- Last entry to the Museum is 4.30pm.
- For Museum accessibility, visit the accessibility page.
The exhibition is created and operated by Bompas & Parr, in association with the British Museum of Food, and sponsored by Visa Protects. This exhibition is also supported by The City of London Corporation’s Destination City Partnership Fund.
Events running alongside the exhibition:
Make the most of the exhibition by exploring the Bank of England Museum for two after-hours at the Museum Lates on Friday 7th and Thursday 20th August, with exciting activities inspired by the Power of Honey.