Caves LIVE
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
Webcasts
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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
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.... -
“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
“Caves LIVE: Live Q&A from Luray Caverns” was videotaped live from Luray Caverns in Virginia. Scientists answered student-submitted questions about caves.
Related Videos
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Aquifer Education – Videos
Watch VideoCheck out a series of videos about the Edwards Aquifer in Texas. Drop inside the Edward Aquifer and explore an unfamiliar world or go on an adventure with Doc Edwards and his Aquifer Explorers.
Cave Formation: Biogeochemical Cycles
Watch VideoFrom 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.Cave Formation: Kane Cave
Watch VideoFrom 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.
Deep Underground with Balcones Canyonlands Preserve Biologist
From Austin Wildlands Balcones Canyonlands Preserve
A Balcones Canyonlands Preserve biologist monitors endangered cave species.
EONS Inner Space Cavern Film
From Inner Space Cavern
Watch amazing video of from Inner Space Cavern in Texas.
“Extreme Caver” Video Takes You to Places Few Have Ever Seen
Watch VideoFrom 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.How Caves Form
Watch VideoFrom PBS
Watch as rainwater, waves, lava, and bacteria create four different types of caves.
Ice Caves of Lake Superior
Watch VideoFrom 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.Inside the Deep Caves Carved by Lava
Watch VideoFrom National Geographic
Check out photos of lava tube caves in Hawaii.
Kuwoot yas.ein: His Spirit is Looking Out from the Cave
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.
Luray Caverns on “What in the World?” (5:38)
Luray Caverns as seen on the kid’s show “What in the World?”
Mammoth Cave Geology Formation
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.
The Physics and Chemistry of Karst Topography
Watch VideoFrom Into the Outdoors
Learn how limestone caves are formed and how the process can impact drinking water.
The Wildlands
From Living Springs Channel
Did you know that Austin, Texas manages 26,000 acres that have been purchased by voters through open space bonds to protect the aquifer? Learn about the myriad benefits of preserving our aquifer lands.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.
Glossary
View All Glossary-
Johanna Kovarik
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 SystemsEarth’s Systems
- 5-ESS2 Earth’s SystemsEarth’s Systems
- MS-ESS2 Earth’s SystemsEarth’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
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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. -
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. -
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.
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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. -
Lessons from National Groundwater Association
Lesson plans are available about water in general, groundwater, aquifers (for middle and high school levels), and wetlands.
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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. -
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. -
Brain Power
From Luray Caverns: check out eight lesson plans about caves and karst.
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Caves and Karst
From PBS Learning Media
This interactive web site depicts caves and other karst features and includes videos about cave formation. -
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. -
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. -
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. -
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. -
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. -
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. -
Material for Teachers
From the National Caves Association
Check out lessons plans about bats, cavern geology, cavern life, and people and caverns. -
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.
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
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.
Related Resources from the Natural Inquirer
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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
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... -
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
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...
About Caves
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National Park Service: Generalized Stages of Cave Development
View PDFFrom the National Park Service
Find excellent drawings about how caves form. -
National Cave and Karst Research Institute
View WebsiteThe 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.
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National Caves Association
View WebsiteThis web site has thorough information about how caves form, types of caves, cave creatures, cave formations, protecting caves, material for teachers, and educational links.
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Virtual Cave
View WebsiteFrom the comfort of your keyboard, browse the wonders of the underground!
Links
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Bat Conservation International
View WebsiteBCI 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.
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BatsLIVE: A Distance Learning Adventure
View WebsiteFrom 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. -
Cave Research Foundation
View WebsiteThe 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.
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Caves: A Window into the Edwards Aquifer
View WebsiteFrom 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. -
Generalized Stages of Cave Development
View PDFFrom the National Park Service
Find excellent drawings about how caves form. -
The Lives of Extremophile
View WebsiteFrom 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.” -
National Cave and Karst Research Institute
View WebsiteThe 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.
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National Speleological Society
View WebsiteWith 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.
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Underground Connection
View PDFThis newsletter is a visual explanation of many features found in caves.
Sponsors
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Partners
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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