Moaning Cavern is a large vertical chamber with two narrow, vertical entrances that make access to the cavern difficult. Water enters the cavern from surface rain but does not collect inside. However, due to the lack of cross-ventilation that horizontal caverns have, Moaning Cavern stays humid year round.

California Cavern is a horizontal cavern with several small, accessible entrances. It is still close to the water table, so it floods every winter. Even during the driest time of year several chambers remain flooded forming underground lakes. The numerous entrances and water create an ideal environment for cavern life.

Experiments & Activities

Grades K – 4 "Explore The Senses"

Pair off students and blindfold one of each pair. Spend at least 15 minutes doing an activity that involves using one of the four senses listed below, then switch. At the end of the experiment, ask the students questions about what they did to show them how their other senses were heightened during the experiment and explain that this is what happens to animals in the dark zone.

Touch - using different objects (feather, pen, etc) touch the student on the arm and have them describe the sensations and try to identify the object
Hearing - with students located in different areas of the class, have each one take a turn creating a day-to-day sound (closing a drawer, zipping a jacket, etc), then have the blindfolded people indicate where the sound is coming from and what it is.

Taste - have small pieces of fruit, bread, candy, etc for blindfolded people to eat and identify. It should be fed to them so they can't identify it by touch.
Smell - have containers of strong smelling food that are opened one at a time for blindfolded students to identify.

Grades 5 – 8 "Examine Environmental Conditions"

Using the included "Living Conditions" worksheet, list the environmental conditions that effect the living conditions and how animals adapt to each of the ecosystems listed.