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Caves LIVE

  • Virtual Learning Adventure
  • Middle School
  • 1 Week+
  • 2-3 Classroom Periods
  • Climate
  • Insects
  • Pollution
  • Recreation
  • Water
  • Wildlife
  • Bats
  • Cave Ecology
  • Cave Formations
  • Conservation
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  • Hydrology
  • Underground
March 14, 2018
Caves LIVE a Distance Learning Adventure
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A world of wonder awaits just below the surface, and this distance learning adventure explores these amazing places. Specially adapted animals, beautiful mirror pools, sparkling crystals, domed caverns, and twisting tunnels lie just below our feet in many areas around the world and even on other planets! Caves provide just one connection between our everyday lives and this rich underground ecosystem. Join scientists and Caves LIVE for an exploration of the world beneath our feet and find out how we are connected to these amazing underground resources.

Learn About:

  • How caves are formed
  • How nutrients and water flow through caves
  • The animals living in caves
  • How humans have used caves
  • Other research being done in caves
  • What we can do to protect caves

Caves LIVE

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Jump To

  • Webcasts
  • Related Videos

Webcasts

  • A world of wonder awaits just below the surface. “CavesLIVE: Bringing Caves and Karst to Light” explores cave ecology, geology, hydrology, and conservation, as well as human uses of caves....

    Video – Caves LIVE: Bringing Caves and Karst to Light

    • Video
    • High School
    • Middle School
    • Upper Elementary
    • 1 Hour
    • Insects
    • Pollution
    • Water
    • Wildlife
    • Cave Ecology
    • Cave Formations
    • Cave Wildlife
    • Conservation
    • Geology
    • Hydrology
    A world of wonder awaits just below the surface. “CavesLIVE: Bringing Caves and Karst to Light” explores cave ecology, geology, hydrology, and conservation, as well as human uses of caves....
    Explore Video
    Explore Video

    Part Of

    Caves LIVE

  • “Caves LIVE: Live Q&A from Luray Caverns” was videotaped live from Luray Caverns in Virginia. Scientists answered student-submitted questions about caves.

    Video – Caves LIVE: Live Q&A from Luray Caverns

    • Video
    • High School
    • Middle School
    • Upper Elementary
    • 1 Hour
    • Climate
    • Insects
    • Pollution
    • Water
    • Wildlife
    • Cave Ecology
    • Cave Formations
    • Conservation
    • Human Impacts
    • Hydrology
    • Q&A
    • Scientists
    “Caves LIVE: Live Q&A from Luray Caverns” was videotaped live from Luray Caverns in Virginia. Scientists answered student-submitted questions about caves.
    Explore Video
    Explore Video

    Part Of

    Caves LIVE

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  • Cave Formation: Biogeochemical Cycles

    From PBS Learning Media
    The most common process by which limestone caves form involves carbonic acid—or weakly acidic groundwater—as the primary agent. When carbonic acid contacts limestone, it dissolves minerals in the rock. If enough water to saturate the rock is present over a long time period, cavities and entire underground cave networks can form. Recently, a radical new theory has been proposed that identifies another cave-forming agent: sulfuric acid. This video segment adapted from NOVA identifies the mysterious source of the sulfuric acid, which, unlike carbonic acid, does not readily form in nature.

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  • Cave Formation: Kane Cave

    From PBS Learning Media
    At first glance, Wyoming’s Kane Cave exhibits few characteristics of the world’s most picturesque caves – it lacks mineral deposits, including stalactites and stalagmites, which decorate most cave ceilings and floors. Although the cave is not small, it pales in size against more massive ones, like those of New Mexico’s Carlsbad Caverns. However, it is not its size that draws scientists to Kane Cave, but another compelling aspect of the cave. In this video segment adapted from NOVA, watch as scientists conduct a simple experiment to determine whether microbes that inhabit the cave could actually be contributing to the cave-formation process.

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    Deep Underground with Balcones Canyonlands Preserve Biologist

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    From Austin Wildlands Balcones Canyonlands Preserve
    A Balcones Canyonlands Preserve biologist monitors endangered cave species.

    Deep Underground with Balcones Canyonlands Preserve Biologist

  • Screenshot of EONS Inner Space Cavern Film video.

    EONS Inner Space Cavern Film

    Screenshot of EONS Inner Space Cavern Film video.

    From Inner Space Cavern
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    EONS Inner Space Cavern Film

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    “Extreme Caver” Video Takes You to Places Few Have Ever Seen

    Screenshot of extreme caver video.

    From the University of Arkansas
    To boldly go where no one has gone before – it’s not science fiction to Matt Covington, an associate professor of geosciences at the University of Arkansas. After completing a doctoral degree in theoretical astrophysics, Covington combined his interest in caves with his education in mathematical models of physical processes. The result? Covington says he’s one of the world’s only speleophysicists as he uses physics to study the underground flow of water.

    Watch Video

    “Extreme Caver” Video Takes You to Places Few Have Ever Seen

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  • How Caves Form

    From PBS
    Watch as rainwater, waves, lava, and bacteria create four different types of caves.

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    Ice Caves of Lake Superior

    Screenshot of Ice Caves of Lake Superior video.

    From Into the Outdoors
    The steep sandstone cliffs along Lake Superior have been weathered by wind and waves for millions of years. In some places, this erosional action has formed caves in the rock. When winters become especially cold, ice can fill the caves and create a place begging to be explored. Watch the Serious Science video to discover nature’s secrets about these fascinating features.

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    Ice Caves of Lake Superior

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    From National Geographic
    Check out photos of lava tube caves in Hawaii.

    Watch Video

    Inside the Deep Caves Carved by Lava

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    Kuwoot yas.ein: His Spirit is Looking Out from the Cave

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    From Title VII Indian Education
    After the discovery of 10,000-year-old human remains in On Your Knees Cave on Prince of Wales Island, Alaska, a unique partnership formed among the Tongass National Forest, scientists, and Alaska Native Tribes to learn about this ancient person. The groups, brought together through the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, worked to unravel the secrets of the early man and learn from each other. After this production, DNA analysis from these remains produced strong evidence of early human coastal migration into the Americas.

    Kuwoot yas.ein: His Spirit is Looking Out from the Cave

  • Screenshot of Luray Caverns on “What in the World?” video.

    Luray Caverns on “What in the World?” (5:38)

    Screenshot of Luray Caverns on “What in the World?” video.

    Luray Caverns as seen on the kid’s show “What in the World?”

    Luray Caverns on “What in the World?” (5:38)

  • Screenshot of Mammoth Cave Geology Formation video.

    Mammoth Cave Geology Formation

    Screenshot of Mammoth Cave Geology Formation video.

    From International Mapping
    International Mapping worked with the National Park Service and Argentine Productions to produce an exhibit explaining the formation of Mammoth Cave, the most extensive cave system in the world. The Green River cut through a layer of resistant sandstone to the softer layers of limestone underneath. Water then started flowing through the slightly angled limestone layers to reach the new river level. This water dissolved the cave passages along the first layer and then along subsequent layers as the river continued cutting deeper and deeper.

    Mammoth Cave Geology Formation

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    The Physics and Chemistry of Karst Topography

    Screenshot of The Physics and Chemistry of Karst Topography video.

    From Into the Outdoors
    Learn how limestone caves are formed and how the process can impact drinking water.

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    The Physics and Chemistry of Karst Topography

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Jump To

  • What is a Virtual Learning Adventure?
  • Goals & Objectives

What is a Virtual Learning Adventure?

Virtual learning adventures and live, electronic field trips (EFTs) bring the excitement of learning right to you, your classroom or your non-formal learning event. Teachers don’t need to load up buses, worry about the weather, or collect money. The experts, topic, and location are brought to you electronically via the Internet.

“Caves LIVE: A Distance Learning Adventure” brings the information and resources right to your classroom, nature center, visitor’s center, house, or wherever you are. Just like an in-person field trip, students can ask questions of the experts or post comments on Facebook and Twitter during the webcast. For teachers, the program and resources will enable you to meet science education standards.


Goals & Objectives

The goal of CavesLIVE is to raise awareness and understanding of caves and karst–a resource that is seldom seen and considered mysterious–and connect it to people’s everyday lives. The objectives of this virtual learning adventure are to:

  • Educate students and others that caves and karst features on the surface are pathways to the subsurface;
  • Learn about how nutrient and energy sources move through those pathways into the subsurface, sustaining thriving communities of biota of all sizes;
  • Educate about how people have used caves to sustain/protect life, for their cultural and spiritual practices, and for science, education, and fun;
  • Understand the role of citizens, public land management agencies, and non-governmental organizations in stewarding natural resources;
  • Increase participation in and understanding of citizen science programs related to caves and karst so that students learn the importance of being a good steward;
  • Meet national education standards as they relate to Earth, Biological, and Social Sciences.
A classic shield-type formation in a cave in New Mexico.
Calcite deposits form as early draperies as water drips and flows in a cave in Puerto Rico. (Photo by Dave Bunnell/ Under Earth Images)
Draperies, soda straws, and Stalactites form beautifully in a cave in Puerto Rico. (Photo by Dave Bunnell/ Under Earth Images)
These bats have White Nose Syndrome, a bat disease spreading across the United States.
Entrance area of Fern cave.
Two cavers pause while working in a Lava Tube in Lava Beds National Monument. (Photo by David Riggs)
Cave formations in a cave - a stalactite, and a small drapery. Photo credit: Elliot Stahl
Lake of the Moon-Inner Space Cavern.
Alaskan cottongrass in a field.
Formations in a sea cave in Alaska. Photo credit: Dave Bunnell/ Under Earth Images
Woman standing in a dark cave.
Underground streams feed springs along the Grand Canyon's North Rim. (Photo by David Herasimtschuk, FreshwatersIllustrated.org)
The Caverns Manager at Blanchard Springs Caverns welcomes visitors to the Dripstone Tour. (Photo: Dave Bunnell/ Under Earth Images)
Microbiologists take samples from a cave wall in New Mexico.
Underground streams feed springs along the Grand Canyon's North Rim. (Photo by David Herasimtschuk, FreshwatersIllustrated.org)
Underground streams feed springs along the Grand Canyon's North Rim. (Photo by David Herasimtschuk, FreshwatersIllustrated.org)
A cave formation. (Photo: Dave Bunnell/ Under Earth Images)
Snow Dragon Glacier Cave in the Pacific Northwest Region of the Forest Service. (Photo: Brent McGregor)
Dr. Johanna Kovarik with the USDA Forest Service sketches a sea cave on the Tongass National Forest. (Photo: Dave Bunnell/ Under Earth Images)
A logging road collapses into a sinkhole in karst topography on the Tongass National Forest.
Woman kneeling in a cave.
Wildlife technicians scrub graffiti off of formations that were damaged by vandalism in Montana. Photo credit: Ellen Whittle
Cavers work together to move gear through a cave in Montana. Photo: Elliot Stahl
Underground streams feed springs along the Grand Canyon's North Rim. (Photo by David Herasimtschuk, FreshwatersIllustrated.org)
In Montana, a caver examines an ice formation inside a cave. (Photo: Dave Bunnell/ Under Earth Images)
A Bat skeleton is encased in calcite in a cave in the Southwestern Region of the Forest Service. (Photo: Dave Bunnell/ Under Earth Images)
A caver looks at ice that has formed near a cave entrance in a cave in Montana. Photo credit: Elliot Stahl
Inside the Tres Amigos-Inner Space Cavern.
Two cavers studing a stream in a cave.
Dr. Pat Kambesis, a geologist with Western Kentucky University and the National Speleological Society, documents a small cave entrance on the Tongass National Forest. (Photo: Dave Bunnell/ Under Earth Images)
A cave entrance in winter on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. (Photo: Ahrlin Bauman)
A lava tube on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest that is also a bat hibernaculum. (Photo: Ahrlin Bauman)
A caver navigates a tight squeeze in a cave. Photo credit: Dr. Benjamin Schwartz
Scientist working inside a cave.
A salamander hangs out in a cave in the Eastern United States.
A scientist sitting inside a cave, taking notes in a journal.
Cavers inside the Lechuguilla Cave.
Mountain Range-Inner Space Cavern.
Caver climbing down a cave.
Inside Serpent Falls-Inner Space Cavern.
Inside the Soda Straw Column-Inner Space Cavern.
The mouth of Starlight Cave.
A caver examines sediments on the floor of Ape Cave, a lava tube on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. (Photo: Dave Bunnell/ Under Earth Images)
Water gushes out of the downstream entrance of Blanchard Springs Caverns on the Ozark-St. Francis National Forests (Photo: Dave Bunnell/ Under Earth Images)
Volunteers document a cave entrance with snow in Montana. (Photo: Dave Bunnell/ Under Earth Images)
A glacier cave in the Pacific Northwest Region of the Forest Service. (Photo: Brent McGregor)
The entrance to a glacier cave in the Pacific Northwest Region of the Forest Service. (Photo: Brent McGregor)
A caver documents a sea cave entrance on the Tongass National Forest. (Photo: Dave Bunnell/ Under Earth Images)

Glossary

View All Glossary
  • Johanna Kovarik

    Geologist | Speleologist

    Hello Everyone! I’ve worked for the Forest Service for over 15 years, and I just recently became a District Ranger on the Paulina Ranger District of the Ochoco National Forest...
    View Profile
  • Barbara Beasley

    Paleontologist

    Barb Beasley is a paleontologist with the USDA Forest Service.  She received B.S. from University of Tennessee at Martin, TN in 1988, in Geosciences with a concentration in Geology and...
    View Profile
  • Limaris “Lima” Soto

    Geologist

    Limaris “Lima” Soto is the program assistant for two National Park Service (NPS) internships Geoscientists-in-the-Parks and Mosaics in Science with the Geologic Resources Division. Lima has a Bachelor’s degree in...
    View Profile
  • Gretchen Baker

    Ecologist

    Gretchen Baker is an ecologist at Great Basin National Park. She started visiting caves when she was a child on summer vacation with her family. When she was 20, she...
    View Profile
  • Hazel Barton

    Geologist | Microbiologist

    Dr. Barton was the star of “Journey into Amazing Caves” the IMAX film on caves and exploration. Dr. Barton’s research is geared toward understanding microbial interactions and adaptations to nutrient-limitation,...
    View Profile
  • Fernando Hernandez

    Hydrogeologist

    Fernando Hernandez grew up in Monterrey, Mexico where he loved to search for fossils and peek underneath rocks to see what kind of bugs lived there. Eventually, his interest in...
    View Profile
  • Risa Carlson

    Archaeologist

    Risa Carlson has been an archaeologist for 38 years working throughout Alaska, with 15 of those years with the U.S. Forest Service in Southeast Alaska. She received her B.S. from...
    View Profile
  • Ben Miller

    Hydrologist

    Ben Miller is a karst hydrologist working with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Ben has an undergraduate degree from the University of...
    View Profile
  • Shona Pierce

    Archaeologist

    Shona provides archaeological and cultural resource management support to the U.S. Forest Service at the Craig and Thorne Bay Ranger Districts on Prince of Wales Island in Southeast Alaska. Growing...
    View Profile
  • Lizandra Nieves-Rivera

    Soil Scientist

    Lizandra Nieves-Rivera is the Forest Soil Scientist for the Willamette National Forest in Springfield, OR. In this role, she is responsible for assessing and protecting soil, and geological resources. Lizandra...
    View Profile
  • Benjamin Tobin

    Hydrologist

    Each science experience is amazing, interesting, and fun in its own way. If I had to choose, however, my favorite would be conducting dye traces at the Grand Canyon. This...
    View Profile
  • Sybill Amelon

    Wildlife Ecologist

    My most exciting science experience was discovering that even very small bats that weigh only 10 grams (about one third of an ounce) travel long distances every night. We found...
    View Profile
  • Steve Taylor

    Research Scientist

    Dr. Steve Taylor is a research associate with the Zoology Department, Denver Museum of Science & Nature and an Associate Research Professor with Colorado College. He is interested in the...
    View Profile

Jump To

  • Education Standards
  • Lesson Plans
    • Grades K - 3
    • Grades K - 6
    • Grades K - 12
    • Grades 3 - 5
    • Grades 3 - 12
    • Grades 4 - 8
    • Grades 6 - 10
    • Grades 5 - 12

Standards addressed in this Virtual Learning Adventure:

Next Generation Science Standards

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are a set of K-12 science education standards emphasizing inquiry-based learning, real-world applications, and integrating engineering practices, aiming to deepen understanding of science while promoting critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
  • 4-ESS2 Earth’s Systems
    Earth’s Systems
  • 5-ESS2 Earth’s Systems
    Earth’s Systems
  • MS-ESS2 Earth’s Systems
    Earth’s Systems

Social Studies Standards

Social Studies Standards are educational guidelines outlining the essential knowledge, skills, and concepts students should learn in subjects such as history, geography, civics, and economics, aiming to provide a comprehensive understanding of societal structures, historical events, and global perspectives.
  • Culture
  • People, Places, and Environments
  • Science, Technology, and Society
  • Time, Continuity, and Change

    Lesson Plans

      Grades K - 3

    • Exploring Caves: Teaching Packet for Grades K – 3

      From the U.S. Geological Survey
      “Exploring Caves” is an interdisciplinary set of materials on caves for grades K-3. Caves entail at least five scientific disciplines: earth science, hydrology, mapping, biology, and anthropology. Each of these disciplines involves a unique content area as well as the development of particular intellectual skills. This unit aims at helping teachers to sort and organize the most important ideas in this rich scientific area.

      View Website

      Grades K - 6

    • Junior Cave Scientist

      From the National Park Service
      The Junior Cave Scientist Program is a part of the National Park Service Junior Ranger Program. The goal of the Junior Ranger Program is to connect young people to their national parks through a variety of in-park activities that are designed to introduce them to the national park system and cultivate future generations of park stewards. While become a Junior Cave Scientist, students will explore a fascinating and fragile underground world, learn about the values of caves and karst landscapes, and complete fun educational activities.

      View Website

      Grades K - 12

    • Bring a Cave to Your School!

      How would you like to bring a cave to your school to give your students an immersive, educational experience with caves? CaveSim exists to do exactly that. Based in Colorado, CaveSim is a mobile cave system that travels around the country to do educational programs at schools, parks, museums, and public events. K-12 students (and adventuresome adults) put on helmets and crawl and climb through 60 feet of cave passage. To make learning fun, a computer system keeps track of how carefully students explore — students who avoid touching the fragile cave formations get a better score.

      CaveSim programs are about a lot more than just crawling. The owner and inventor of CaveSim is an MIT graduate who teaches students about a wide variety of STEM concepts, from mechanical systems (with hands-on experience on a 12′ ropes tower) to chemistry (with demos of working carbide lamps) to biology (with bat physiology lessons and live-culture labs) to engineering and math (with hands-on labs). Thanks to the teachers on staff, CaveSim programs are standards aligned and filled with educational content for the full K-12 range. To learn more about our school programs, visit www.cavesim.com/schools. CaveSim LLC also creates mobile and permanent cave installations.

      View Website
    • Ice Caves of Lake Superior

      From Into the Outdoors
      When winters become especially cold, ice can fill caves along lakes and seashores and create a place begging to be explored. Watch the Serious Science video to discover nature’s secrets about these fascinating features. An elementary lesson plan introduces students to the characteristics of rocks using various observational techniques. A high school lesson plan integrates an understanding of the geologic processes that resulted in the formation of the Great Lakes.

      View Website
    • Lessons from National Groundwater Association

      Lesson plans are available about water in general, groundwater, aquifers (for middle and high school levels), and wetlands.

      View Website
    • Mammoth Cave Curriculum Materials

      From the National Park Service
      These lesson plans from the Mammoth Cave national park help students conceptualize how caves are created, learn about national parks, and more.

      View Website

      Grades 3 - 5

    • More Than Skin Deep: A Teacher’s Guide to Caves and Groundwater

      From the National Park Service
      Check out this web page for links to lessons about bats, making a cave, groundwater, cave formation, and stalactites.

      View Website

      Grades 3 - 12

    • Brain Power

      From Luray Caverns: check out eight lesson plans about caves and karst.

      View Website
    • Caves and Karst

      From PBS Learning Media
      This interactive web site depicts caves and other karst features and includes videos about cave formation.

      View Website

      Grades 4 - 8

    • Amazing Caves!

      From Noelle Grunwalk, University of Minnesota – Duluth
      Check out 14 lessons plans from the basics (introducing students to caves) to learning about cave critters.

      View Website
    • Dye Tracing

      From the National Park Service
      Students learn how the source of water can be traced through a cave and then can discuss the effect that polluted water could have on a cave.

      View PDF
    • Indiana Bats, Kids & Caves – Oh My!: An Activity Book for Teachers

      From the Education Department of Evansville’s Mesker Park Zoo and Botanic Garden
      This curriculum offers a wide range of activities about bats, karst topography, and caves.

      View Website
    • Prehistoric Caves Art

      From Art Room 104
      Follow the art instructions in the lesson plan and have your students create cave paintings like those found in Lascaux Cave in France. First, crinkle a huge sheet of brown butcher paper to create physical texture like rocks in a cave. Then, take natural colored chalk that and rub it all over the wrinkled paper. Using paper towels, wipe it to blend all the colors together. Then, fill in the “cave wall” with large paintings.

      View Website

      Grades 6 - 10

    • Sinkholes in a Cup

      From Earth Science Week
      Sinkholes are natural depressions in the land caused when limestone and soils dissolve. They form when groundwater removes rock underground. They can form by slow gradual sinking or by sudden collapse of an underlying hole.

       

      View Website

      Grades 5 - 12

    • Karst Landscapes and Caves of Southeast Alaska: A Resource for Teachers

      From the USDA Forest Service
      This resource guide provides information and teaching ideas about the caves and karst lands of Southeast Alaska. The guide includes: a map depicting the karst lands and geology of Southeast Alaska; a descriptive guide with glossary and student activities; goals and objectives for activities; and useful appendices.

      View PDF
    • Material for Teachers

      From the National Caves Association
      Check out lessons plans about bats, cavern geology, cavern life, and people and caverns.

      View Website
    • The Mysterious Life of Caves

      From PBS
      Students will understand that microorganisms can survive in many different environments and that microorganisms live in places where conditions are suitable for their growth.

      View Website

What is a Virtual Learning Adventure?

Virtual learning adventures and live, electronic field trips (EFTs) bring the excitement of learning right to you, your classroom or your non-formal learning event. Teachers don’t need to load up buses, worry about the weather, or collect money. The experts, topic, and location are brought to you electronically via the Internet.

“Caves LIVE: A Distance Learning Adventure” brings the information and resources right to your classroom, nature center, visitor’s center, house, or wherever you are. Just like an in-person field trip, students can ask questions of the experts or post comments on Facebook and Twitter during the webcast. For teachers, the program and resources will enable you to meet science education standards.


Goals & Objectives

The goal of CavesLIVE is to raise awareness and understanding of caves and karst–a resource that is seldom seen and considered mysterious–and connect it to people’s everyday lives. The objectives of this virtual learning adventure are to:

  • Educate students and others that caves and karst features on the surface are pathways to the subsurface;
  • Learn about how nutrient and energy sources move through those pathways into the subsurface, sustaining thriving communities of biota of all sizes;
  • Educate about how people have used caves to sustain/protect life, for their cultural and spiritual practices, and for science, education, and fun;
  • Understand the role of citizens, public land management agencies, and non-governmental organizations in stewarding natural resources;
  • Increase participation in and understanding of citizen science programs related to caves and karst so that students learn the importance of being a good steward;
  • Meet national education standards as they relate to Earth, Biological, and Social Sciences.

Jump To

  • Related from Natural Inquirer
  • About Caves
  • Links

Related Resources from the Natural Inquirer

  • The Caves and Karst edition of Natural Inquirer examines research on a variety of topics including white-nose syndrome in bats, karst forest areas, cave use of an indigenous tribe of...

    Caves and Karst Natural Inquirer – Vol. 20 No. 1

    • Journal
    • Middle School
    • Carbon
    • Climate
    • Pollinators
    • Social Science
    • Water
    • Wildlife
    • Anthropology
    • Archaeology
    • Bats
    • Cave Formation
    • Geology
    • Hydrology
    • Land Otter
    • Speleothem
    • Tlingit
    • White Nose Syndrome
    The Caves and Karst edition of Natural Inquirer examines research on a variety of topics including white-nose syndrome in bats, karst forest areas, cave use of an indigenous tribe of...
    Explore Journal Download Journal (PDF)
    Explore Journal Download Journal (PDF)
  • From the formation of caves by the movement of groundwater to mapping them and exploring their unique ecosystems to the importance of their conservation, this module is designed to explore...

    Learning Module – Caves & Karst

    • Learning Module
    • High School
    • Middle School
    • Upper Elementary
    • 1 Week+
    • 2 Weeks+
    • 2-3 Classroom Periods
    • 5 Classroom Periods
    • Insects
    • Water
    • Wilderness
    • Wildlife
    • Bats
    • Cave Ecology
    • Cave Formations
    • Caving
    • Fossils
    • Geology
    • Glaciers
    • Karst
    • LiDAR
    • Mapping
    • Microbes
    • Safety
    • White Nose Syndrome
    From the formation of caves by the movement of groundwater to mapping them and exploring their unique ecosystems to the importance of their conservation, this module is designed to explore...
    Explore Learning Module
    Explore Learning Module

About Caves

  • National Park Service: Generalized Stages of Cave Development

    From the National Park Service
    Find excellent drawings about how caves form.

    View PDF
  • National Cave and Karst Research Institute

    The National Cave and Karst Research Institute (NCKRI) is a non-profit government-supported institute headquartered in the City of Carlsbad, New Mexico. Its goals are to conduct, support, facilitate, and promote programs in cave and karst research, education, environmental management, and data acquisition and sharing.

    View Website
  • National Caves Association

    This web site has thorough information about how caves form, types of caves, cave creatures, cave formations, protecting caves, material for teachers, and educational links.

    View Website
  • Virtual Cave

    From the comfort of your keyboard, browse the wonders of the underground!

     

    View Website

Links

  • Bat Conservation International

    BCI is dedicated to the enduring protection of the world’s 1300+ species of bats and their habitats and creating a world in which bats and humans successfully coexist.

    View Website
  • BatsLIVE: A Distance Learning Adventure

    From Prince William Network and the USDA Forest Service
    BatsLIVE: A Distance Learning Adventure brings bat conservation to life through webcasts, webinars, and online education resources. Bats are vital to healthy ecosystems and human economies worldwide.

    View Website
  • Cave Research Foundation

    The Cave Research Foundation is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to: facilitating research, management and interpretation of caves and karst resources; forming partnerships to study, protect and preserve cave resources and karst areas; and promoting the long term conservation of caves and karst ecosystems.

    View Website
  • Caves: A Window into the Edwards Aquifer

    From the Environmental Science Institute, the University of Texas at Austin
    The Edwards Aquifer of central Texas is a critical resource that provides drinking water and recreation for residents. While these lessons emphasize the Edwards Aquifer, there are also lessons on: What is a karst?; how caves form; and cave formations.

    View Website
  • Generalized Stages of Cave Development

    From the National Park Service
    Find excellent drawings about how caves form.

    View PDF
  • The Lives of Extremophile

    From NOVA
    Diana Northup can get extreme about extremophiles, microbes that thrive in environments that would terminate us humans in seconds flat. “We think we’re superior beings, but these guys are really where it’s at,” says Northup, a microbiologist and associate professor at the University of New Mexico and an associate in the university’s Museum of Southwestern Biology. Check out the web page for other links, for example, the “Journey into Lechuguilla Cave.”

    View Website
  • National Cave and Karst Research Institute

    The National Cave and Karst Research Institute (NCKRI) is a non-profit government-supported institute headquartered in the City of Carlsbad, New Mexico. Its goals are to conduct, support, facilitate, and promote programs in cave and karst research, education, environmental management, and data acquisition and sharing.

    View Website
  • National Speleological Society

    With 10,000 members and 250 grottos (chapters), the National Speleological Society is the largest organization in the world working every day to further the exploration, study, and protection of caves and their environments, and foster fellowship among cavers.

    View Website
  • Underground Connection

    This newsletter is a visual explanation of many features found in caves.

    View PDF

Jump To

  • Sponsors
  • Partners

Sponsors

  • USDA Forest Service

    Established in 1905, the Forest Service is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Forest Service manages public lands in national forests and grasslands. Gifford Pinchot, the first Chief of the Forest Service, summed up the mission of the Forest Service "to provide the greatest amount of good for the greatest amount of people in the long run." National forests and grasslands encompass 193 million acres of land, which is an area equivalent to the size of Texas.

    Visit Partner
  • Prince William Network

    Prince William Network (PWNet) is a part of Prince William County (Virginia) Public Schools and provides quality, distance-learning opportunities to students, educators, and communities across Virginia and the nation. PWNet is a leading provider of live, electronic field trips for students and has won numerous national awards. Electronic field trips bring the excitement of learning to remote places with the ability to converse with experts.

    Visit Partner
  • Cave Research Foundation

    Cave Research Foundation is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to: facilitating research, management and interpretation of caves and karst resources; forming partnerships to study, protect and preserve cave resources and karst areas; and promoting the long term conservation of caves and karst ecosystems.

    Visit Partner
  • Cave Conservancy of the Virginias

    Cave Conservancy of the Virginias (CCV) is a nonprofit organization established in 1980 for the purpose of protecting and managing caves and karst resources in Virginia and West Virginia and is based in Richmond, Virginia. CCV membership is made up of people from all walks of life that recognize the importance of karst resources to water quality and the need to protect the fragile environment of caves so that the many unique species that can survive nowhere else may be preserved for study and enjoyment by future generations. CCV is proud to have contributed independently and in conjunction with various other nonprofit organizations on many educational, research, and environmental protection projects over the years.

    Visit Partner
  • Cave Conservancy Foundation

    The mission of the Cave Conservancy foundation is to promote and facilitate the conservation, management, and knowledge of cave and karst resources.

    Visit Partner
  • National Caves Association

    The National Caves Association is a non-profit trade association founded in 1965 by a small group of private show cave owners. The National Caves Association has been active in promoting cave visitation, developing affordable cave insurance programs, helping develop and implement industry standards on alpha radiation in caves, educating the public on White Nose Syndrome (WNS), and has become a repository of information on a wide variety of topics related to the show cave industry.

    Visit Partner
  • National Park Service

    The National Park Service manages some of the world's most amazing places. This includes over 4,700 caves with at least four of these that extend for more than 135 miles and are so complex that the casual visitor would be lost among the hundreds of passages to choose from. This also includes karst, a type of landform where sinkholes, sinking streams, and springs are considered normal features and are indicative of the relationship found between the surface and the underground.

    Visit Partner
  • Indiana Karst Conservancy

    The Indiana Karst Conservancy (IKC) is dedicated to the preservation and conservation of Indiana's unique karst features. The IKC was formed by concerned individuals when it became apparent that no similar group was actively protecting such features for their inherent geological, biological, and historical importance. The purposes of the IKC are the management, protection, and acquisition of the karst areas in southern Indiana. The IKC also supports research and promotes education related to karst and its appropriate use. Many of today's abuses in karst areas arise from lack of understanding and knowledge.

    Visit Partner

Partners

  • U.S. Geological Survey

    The US Geological Survey provides science about the natural hazards that threaten lives and livelihoods; the water, energy, minerals, and other natural resources we rely on; the health of our ecosystems and environment; and the impacts of climate and land-use change.

    Visit Partner
  • National Speleological Society

    With 10,000 members and 250 grottos (chapters), the National Speleological Society (NSS) is the largest organization in the world working every day to further the exploration, study, and protection of caves and their environments, and foster fellowship among cavers. For over 70 years, the NSS has promoted safe and responsible caving practices, effective cave and karst management, speleology, and conservation. Our members are bound together by their love of caves and caving and their desire to learn about the underground wilderness and protect it for future generations.

    Visit Partner
  • FSNatureLIVE: Distance Learning Adventures

    The USDA Forest Service, Prince William Network and partners bring nature learning to you through our series of webcasts, webinars, and online education resources. No matter where you are in the world, visit our LIVE programs for exciting, on-site learning about grasslands, climate change, fresh water, bats, butterflies, wetlands, and more!

    Visit Partner
  • National Cave & Karst Program, United States Forest Service

    The goal of the Forest Service’s cave and karst resource management program is to protect and maintain the biologic, geologic, mineralogical, paleontological, hydrologic, cultural, educational, scientific, and recreational values of caves and karst resources.

    Visit Partner
  • National Cave and Karst Research Institute

    The National Cave and Karst Research Institute (NCKRI) is a non-profit government-supported institute headquartered in the City of Carlsbad, New Mexico. Its goals are to conduct, support, facilitate, and promote programs in cave and karst research, education, environmental management, and data acquisition and sharing.

    Visit Partner
  • Natural Inquirer

    The Natural Inquirer program produces a variety of science education materials for PreK through grade 12. Natural Inquirer products are produced by the USDA Forest Service, the Cradle of Forestry in America Interpretive Association (CFAIA), and other cooperators and partners.

    Visit Partner
  • Project Underground

    Project Underground is a national educational training program that promotes public involvement and increases public awareness about karst areas and the land use issues unique to these areas. Developed in Virginia, Project Underground explains how to teach about karst resources in the classroom.

    Visit Partner
  • Under Earth Images

    Check out Dave Bunnell’s collection of cave photographs.

    Visit Partner
  • Crawford Hydrology Laboratory

    Crawford Hydrology Laboratory provides professional consulting and field and laboratory services regarding groundwater tracing in karst and non-karst areas. The lab specializes in groundwater investigations with the use of fluorescent dyes and utilizes techniques it developed and enhanced over the past 38 years. Crawford Hydrology Laboratory provides quality supplies and analyses for groundwater traces and conducts full field investigations.

    Visit Partner
  • Luray Caverns

    Luray Caverns located near Luray, Virginia, has drawn many visitors since its discovery in 1878. The underground cavern system is generously adorned with speleothems such as columns, mud flows, stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, and mirrored pools. The caverns are perhaps best known for the Great Stalacpipe Organ, which makes music by gently tapping stalactites.

    Visit Partner
  • Society for the Exploration of Caves Ljubljana (Slovenia)

    Since 1910, members of the Society for the Exploration of Caves Ljubljana have been exploring the mysterious world of caves, documenting them,and actively engaging in their protection.At research excursions and camps,we researched and recorded about 3000 caves or one third of all known caves in Slovenia. Caving is a group activity. Members of the Society are Doctorsof Science, recognized experts, students, workers, farmers and pensioners of different ages and genders, who are connected by the desire to explore the unknown.

    Visit Partner
  • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

    U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages the 150 million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System of more than 560 National Wildlife Refuges and thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service leads an extensive network of state and federal agencies, tribes, organizations, institutions and individuals in working cooperatively to investigate the source, spread and cause of bat deaths associated with White-nose syndrome (WNS) and develop management tools and strategies to minimize the impacts of the disease.

    Visit Partner
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The Natural Inquirer program produces a variety of science education materials for PreK through grade 12. Natural Inquirer products are produced by the USDA Forest Service, FIND Outdoors, and other cooperators and partners.

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