WEBVTT

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(upbeat music)

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(adventurous music)

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All right, it's time,

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and unless you've been living under a rock somewhere

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for the past few months,

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you know what time I'm talkin' about,

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time for CavesLIVE.

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Hey everybody, my name's Amtchat Edwards

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and I'm an Education Specialist

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with the United States Forest Service.

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My job is to help make sure that we're learning things

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and having fun in the process,

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so fingers crossed it all goes well today.

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All right.

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We are in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia

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in a place called Luray Caverns.

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This is actually one of the largest caverns,

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the largest cave systems, ha ha,

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the largest cave systems in the eastern United States.

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And if you look around,

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these chambers actually began dissolving

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over 400 million years ago.

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So, you know, this wasn't made overnight.

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And if you look, you'll notice

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that most of these structures around here

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are reddish and orange-brownish color.

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That's coming from iron present in the soil above

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and as the water and raindrops trickle down,

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they bring it through here

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and have painted and decorated these walls

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this fabulous, beautiful color.

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We didn't stage this for you, this is natural.

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400 million years in the making, how about it?

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All right.

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One of the things that you'll see

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a little bit later is actually manmade.

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There's a musical instrument, an organ,

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that we'll play a little bit later,

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so stay tuned for that.

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Caves have all sorts of interesting things

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that you'll find in them.

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The more that you get out and see,

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you'll notice that they are beautiful, natural formations

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and there are caves all across the country,

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so I'm encouraging you to come visit.

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After you see this program,

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you're gonna wanna go even more,

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but right now, I'm even sayin' come visit.

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And speaking of visitors,

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I have a bunch of friends here

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from Rippon Middle School, hey!

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Hey!

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Yeah, welcome.

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I'm so glad you all could come.

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They will actually be asking questions

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of our fabulous scientists,

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which we just happen to have three right here.

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Let me introduce.

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We've got Dr. Johanna Kovarik,

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she's the National Cave and Karst Program lead

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for the USDA Forest Service.

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We have Barb Beasley, a paleontologist

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with the USDA Forest Service,

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and we have Limarise Soto,

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Hola.

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Or Lima, she's a geologist with the National Park Service.

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Now these are a few of our scientists,

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we have a bunch more that are not gonna be onscreen.

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They are equally as important and equally as awesome.

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I'm gonna introduce them

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because they'll be answering your questions

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and putting them into the online forum,

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so they're not here with us, but they are.

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We've got Gretchen Baker, she's an ecologist

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with the National Park Service and one of our stars

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from the original CavesLIVE.

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We have Dr. Hazel Barton, a professor

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at the University of Akron.

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She's also a star of the IMAX movie,

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Journey Into Amazing Caves.

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We have Fernando Hernadez, a graduate student

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in hydrogeology at Western Kentucky University,

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also one of our stars from the original CavesLIVE.

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We have Ben Miller, a karst hydrologist

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with the U.S. Geological Survey.

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We have Shona Pierce, an archeologist

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with the Forest Service.

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Lizandra Nieves-Rivera, she's a forest soil scientist

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with the Forest Service.

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So many different types of science, right?

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We have, that's why I'm using notes.

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(scientists laughing)

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Dr. Ben Tobin is a hydrologist

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with the National Park Service.

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Dr. Steve Taylor is a research associate

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with the Denver Museum of Nature and Science,

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one of our awesome partners, as well,

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and associate research professor at Colorado College.

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Dr. Sybill Amelon is a research wildlife biologist

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with the Forest Service,

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and Dr. Risa Carlson, archeologist

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with the Forest Service.

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I haven't actually done the math,

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but I think that's a ton of scientists.

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(scientists laughing)

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Okay, so you're probably trying to figure out

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how to submit questions.

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Well, if you are on the CavesLIVE website,

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you can immediately post those there.

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Also, if you're in on the Facebook environment,

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you can post your questions

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directly on our page there, as well,

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or emailing to fieldtrips@pwnet.org

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and all those three channels will funnel to us here,

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we'll answer them as best as we can.

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Sound fun?

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Okay, sweet.

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How about we start with a question

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from somebody in the room?

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Sounds good.

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(scientists agreeing)

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We're ready.

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All right, Rippon Middle School

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is sending their first representative up.

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Come on, let's see what you have.

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So how are caves and cave systems formed?

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Way to start us off.

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How are caves and cave systems formed?

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That's a great question,

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that's such a great question to start us off with,

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and as Amtchat said earlier,

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when we first started the program, he gave us a hint, right?

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He said that as water moves through the rock.

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So for caves like this,

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caves like the one we're standing in right now

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here at Luray Caverns,

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and caves in areas of the U.S. and around the world

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that are made from limestone,

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water interacts with the rock to dissolve away that rock

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and carry it away and create these cavernous rooms

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that we're standing in right here.

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But there are other types of caves, as well.

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Yeah, so we're here in a solutional cave, right?

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And so Luray Caverns is a type of cave

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that is called solutional cave.

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But we have volcanic caves

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and then we have talus caves that are formed

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by rocks piling on top of each other,

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or sea caves that form on shorelines

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and glacial caves, those are important, as well.

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Different type of caves.

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Three different answers.

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You okay with that?

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Sweet, thank you.

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(scientists laughing)

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Thank you.

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Anybody else from Rippon Middle School,

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you wanna come?

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Come on.

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My question is is...

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Do sudden events cause the caves to form

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or are they developed over many years?

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Good question.

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You think like an earthquake opened this up,

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is that what we're askin', something like that?

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Let's see.

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Also a really good question.

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Amtchat gave us a hint to this, as well,

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he said over 400 million years ago,

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this cave started to form,

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so many caves take a very long time to form.

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It started out as something very small

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and then, over lots and lots of years,

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form these huge spaces,

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but as Lima mentioned,

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there are lots of different types of caves

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and some take less time.

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Yes, especially if they have, let's say, wave action.

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If you're on the coast and you have the sea waves,

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and then you also have mechanical action.

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So some caves form faster,

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but not fast enough for us to actually notice.

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It will take a long time for us

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to see a big chamber like this, millions of years.

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And that's why we have to preserve and conserve them.

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They're very valuable and took many, many years to form.

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Thank you.

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Thank you, Ameenah and Martin, for those questions.

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Really appreciate you all.

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You probably have some more, hang on.

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We'll come back to you.

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What I'd like to do is see if we have an online question

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ready and available.

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We have an online question?

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Sweet.

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We do, I'm taking this one.

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Great.

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Oh, you've got one, sweet, awesome.

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Thank you, so this is from Miss Dornan's class

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in Galesbury, Illinois.

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Hello, Illinois!

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(laughing)

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How big does it have to be to be considered a cave?

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Ooh, that is such a good question.

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So, in terms of federal lands, where the Forest Service

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and the National Park Service manage caves,

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caves are defined

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by the Federal Cave Resources Protection Act

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and there's no quantitative measurement,

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no number that we apply to a cave

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in terms of how big it needs to be.

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It just needs to be a naturally-occurring void space

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or empty space like this under the surface of the earth.

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However, in different states, they do have a number

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they apply to that.

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So for Missouri or Tennessee, where Barb is from,

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they might say a cave need to be 30 feet long

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or something like that in order to

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actually be defined as a cave.

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That's a great question.

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So I can't consider a pothole in the street...

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(Johanna laughing)

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it's okay.
It might be considered

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a sinkhole.

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(all laughing)

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Karst feature.

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A karst feature,

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well thank you, all right.

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We have another one.

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This is from Anna, who's actually homeschooled

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in Chesapeake Beach, Maryland.

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Hey, I've been there before.

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What's your most favorite cave?

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And we're gonna have this cave cover its ears, hold on.

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I think Mammoth Cave has been my favorite cave

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because it's in Kentucky, so it's close to where

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I did a geology field trip

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and it's just monstrous, just like the name says,

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mammoth, it is huge.

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And you're a paleontologist.

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And I'm a paleontologist that refers to the elephants

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that used to be in North America.

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Did you know elephants were in North America?

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No?

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Yes, yeah, come on.

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(all laughing)

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You too cold?

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(all laughing)

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So yes, mammoths and other elephants

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were around in North America over 10,000 years ago.

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I have to say Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

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It's just a beautiful cave.

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If you have the chance, go visit.

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It's in New Mexico.

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I'm kind of biased

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'cause I work for the National Park Service,

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but it's one of those wonders of the world.

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Do you wanna say your favorite cave?

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Well, actually, how about you, Amtchat?

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All right, I've been in two caves,

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I think I'm gonna say my favorite cave

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is gonna be Atlanta Springs.

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Yes!

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It was awesome.

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The folks there were great, and it was wild.

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There were bats everywhere

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and bat poop everywhere, but you know,

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you look past that.

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(Johanna laughing)

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Because the cave is just so cool.

271
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We're really happy there's bat poop there

272
00:10:19.380 --> 00:10:21.419
because that means there's bats there.

273
00:10:21.419 --> 00:10:22.252
It's great.
There's life.

274
00:10:22.252 --> 00:10:23.627
Yes, yes.

275
00:10:23.627 --> 00:10:24.940
There is life.

276
00:10:24.940 --> 00:10:27.481
Well, this question, we still have, yes,

277
00:10:27.481 --> 00:10:31.210
okay, this one, what's the smallest area of a cave

278
00:10:31.210 --> 00:10:32.770
you've ever passed through?

279
00:10:32.770 --> 00:10:34.264
They want a story.

280
00:10:34.264 --> 00:10:35.380
Oh, ooh.

281
00:10:35.380 --> 00:10:36.213
Oh, I'm sorry,

282
00:10:37.591 --> 00:10:40.412
and this one is from Collum from California.

283
00:10:40.412 --> 00:10:43.020
Collum, that's a big question,

284
00:10:43.020 --> 00:10:44.195
or a little question.

285
00:10:44.195 --> 00:10:45.864
(scientists laughing)

286
00:10:45.864 --> 00:10:47.733
All right, all right, I'll stop.

287
00:10:49.980 --> 00:10:51.770
Gosh, the smallest space.

288
00:10:51.770 --> 00:10:53.640
I don't know, what's the smallest,

289
00:10:53.640 --> 00:10:56.060
so there are places in caves, when you're exploring,

290
00:10:56.060 --> 00:10:57.750
where you have to crawl through

291
00:10:57.750 --> 00:10:59.200
and you have to turn your head sideways

292
00:10:59.200 --> 00:11:02.213
and push your pack ahead of you or drag it behind you

293
00:11:02.213 --> 00:11:04.350
attached to your foot or something like that.

294
00:11:04.350 --> 00:11:06.445
So that's pretty small,

295
00:11:06.445 --> 00:11:09.260
where it takes, I can't even think of how long,

296
00:11:09.260 --> 00:11:11.470
like the longest time I've spent in a small space like that,

297
00:11:11.470 --> 00:11:14.070
but they're definitely small spaces that we pursue

298
00:11:14.070 --> 00:11:15.160
to explore caves.

299
00:11:15.160 --> 00:11:16.614
How about you two?

300
00:11:16.614 --> 00:11:19.000
Do you have any small space experience underground?

301
00:11:19.000 --> 00:11:20.725
Yes, in Florida.

302
00:11:20.725 --> 00:11:22.233
(scientists laughing)

303
00:11:22.233 --> 00:11:23.721
I thought there might be a good story.

304
00:11:23.721 --> 00:11:24.880
Yeah, they're pretty tight

305
00:11:24.880 --> 00:11:26.777
and you're pushing your backpack as you go

306
00:11:26.777 --> 00:11:29.267
and you're like, "When is this going to end?

307
00:11:29.267 --> 00:11:30.760
"It's getting kind of small."

308
00:11:30.760 --> 00:11:33.554
So imagine crawling under your chair

309
00:11:33.554 --> 00:11:35.500
and see how much space you have

310
00:11:35.500 --> 00:11:37.130
to move from one side to the other,

311
00:11:37.130 --> 00:11:39.062
not now, but when you go home.

312
00:11:39.062 --> 00:11:39.900
(scientists laughing)

313
00:11:39.900 --> 00:11:41.410
It's sort of the same feeling

314
00:11:41.410 --> 00:11:44.684
of being in a tight, contained place.

315
00:11:44.684 --> 00:11:47.363
Whew, people find fun in so many different ways.

316
00:11:47.363 --> 00:11:48.196
(laughing)

317
00:11:48.196 --> 00:11:49.210
Some people stick themselves

318
00:11:49.210 --> 00:11:51.200
in tiny caverns.
You never know.

319
00:11:51.200 --> 00:11:52.033
Tell me your name again.

320
00:11:52.033 --> 00:11:54.110
We've got, you wanna do a question?

321
00:11:54.110 --> 00:11:55.693
My name is Maraki Illiga.

322
00:11:55.693 --> 00:11:56.850
Well, welcome.

323
00:11:56.850 --> 00:11:58.920
Okay, my question is how is the cave

324
00:11:58.920 --> 00:12:00.020
still in good condition

325
00:12:00.020 --> 00:12:02.620
even though it's been years since it has been found?

326
00:12:04.750 --> 00:12:06.000
Good question.

327
00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:08.250
Someone nailing these back to the ceiling,

328
00:12:08.250 --> 00:12:09.083
is that what you're askin'?

329
00:12:09.083 --> 00:12:09.916
(laughing)

330
00:12:09.916 --> 00:12:11.182
Okay, got it (mumbles).

331
00:12:11.182 --> 00:12:14.170
So caves have stewards, right?

332
00:12:14.170 --> 00:12:15.860
We are all stewards of caves

333
00:12:15.860 --> 00:12:17.330
and we all help to protect caves

334
00:12:17.330 --> 00:12:19.080
through the different things that we do.

335
00:12:19.080 --> 00:12:21.370
In the Forest Service and the National Park Service,

336
00:12:21.370 --> 00:12:23.490
and then here at Luray, the owners of Luray Caverns,

337
00:12:23.490 --> 00:12:25.280
since it's a privately-owned cave,

338
00:12:25.280 --> 00:12:27.560
all take precautions and do things

339
00:12:27.560 --> 00:12:29.474
to make sure that what we're doing on the surface

340
00:12:29.474 --> 00:12:31.660
doesn't impact the cave below,

341
00:12:31.660 --> 00:12:34.440
and they also have tour guides, which you may have seen,

342
00:12:34.440 --> 00:12:36.997
or Forest Service or National Park Service employees

343
00:12:36.997 --> 00:12:39.045
that talk to the visitors and tell them

344
00:12:39.045 --> 00:12:41.790
not to touch formations and not to take them with them

345
00:12:41.790 --> 00:12:43.280
so that other people can enjoy them

346
00:12:43.280 --> 00:12:45.254
and scientists can study them.

347
00:12:45.254 --> 00:12:46.560
Thank you.

348
00:12:46.560 --> 00:12:48.320
Great question, thank you.

349
00:12:48.320 --> 00:12:49.870
Come on up, you.

350
00:12:49.870 --> 00:12:52.230
Sweet, you all are in the front row, so convenient.

351
00:12:52.230 --> 00:12:55.164
So my question is what impact do caves have

352
00:12:55.164 --> 00:12:56.747
on our daily lives?

353
00:12:57.595 --> 00:12:59.790
I'm turnin' that way, thank you.

354
00:12:59.790 --> 00:13:00.623
What's your name?

355
00:13:00.623 --> 00:13:01.456
Lydia.

356
00:13:01.456 --> 00:13:02.289
Thanks, Lydia.

357
00:13:03.130 --> 00:13:05.150
So we're connected to caves in our daily lives

358
00:13:05.150 --> 00:13:06.190
in lots of different ways.

359
00:13:06.190 --> 00:13:08.770
For one, they capture our imagination, right?

360
00:13:08.770 --> 00:13:10.450
Pretty cool, huh?

361
00:13:10.450 --> 00:13:13.310
And then also, scientists who study caves

362
00:13:13.310 --> 00:13:16.650
learn things about medicine like antibiotics,

363
00:13:16.650 --> 00:13:19.120
how microbes interact with the environment

364
00:13:19.120 --> 00:13:22.180
and how to utilize them in medicines,

365
00:13:22.180 --> 00:13:24.299
which is a good question for some of scientists

366
00:13:24.299 --> 00:13:26.623
answering questions online,

367
00:13:26.623 --> 00:13:28.318
we have a microbiologist with us.

368
00:13:28.318 --> 00:13:30.480
And then, also through water,

369
00:13:30.480 --> 00:13:32.770
water comes from cave systems in some places,

370
00:13:32.770 --> 00:13:34.670
so we interact with the water

371
00:13:34.670 --> 00:13:36.910
that comes out of cave systems.

372
00:13:36.910 --> 00:13:37.743
Very cool.

373
00:13:37.743 --> 00:13:38.870
And people, as we talked about,

374
00:13:38.870 --> 00:13:40.170
as Amtchat said, people are into

375
00:13:40.170 --> 00:13:41.130
all kind of different things.

376
00:13:41.130 --> 00:13:43.510
Some of us love recreating in caves

377
00:13:43.510 --> 00:13:45.573
and crawling through small spaces.

378
00:13:48.230 --> 00:13:49.063
You can do it every day

379
00:13:49.063 --> 00:13:51.720
if you join this team of scientists one day,

380
00:13:51.720 --> 00:13:52.553
hint, hint, hint, hint.

381
00:13:52.553 --> 00:13:53.670
(scientists laughing)

382
00:13:53.670 --> 00:13:54.503
Hint.

383
00:13:55.870 --> 00:13:58.102
Did any of you want to jump in on that one

384
00:13:58.102 --> 00:13:58.935
because we have a couple of questions

385
00:13:58.935 --> 00:14:00.273
coming in from online?

386
00:14:00.273 --> 00:14:01.445
Where do you want to go?

387
00:14:01.445 --> 00:14:03.800
Thanks, Johanna, for giving,

388
00:14:03.800 --> 00:14:04.740
look at this high-tech,

389
00:14:04.740 --> 00:14:06.900
coming right in from online.

390
00:14:06.900 --> 00:14:10.157
All right, this one is from Kristin Glasner

391
00:14:11.210 --> 00:14:16.058
from Fillmore Middle School in Fillmore, New York.

392
00:14:16.058 --> 00:14:18.720
What is the mineral composition of a cave?

393
00:14:18.720 --> 00:14:22.170
We have learned about calcite and chemical weathering.

394
00:14:22.170 --> 00:14:24.847
Is there calcite in this cave?

395
00:14:24.847 --> 00:14:29.847
Yes, so part of the formation here, it's dolomite

396
00:14:30.430 --> 00:14:33.920
which is calcium carbonate formed with magnesium,

397
00:14:33.920 --> 00:14:38.737
but most of the cave is also limestone, which has calcium.

398
00:14:38.737 --> 00:14:42.380
There are some formations that are a form of aragonite

399
00:14:42.380 --> 00:14:44.270
and you can also have gypsum in caves.

400
00:14:44.270 --> 00:14:46.140
So there are different kind of minerals

401
00:14:46.140 --> 00:14:47.840
that you can find in caves.

402
00:14:47.840 --> 00:14:51.163
In here, a lot of the speleothems are calcite.

403
00:14:53.342 --> 00:14:55.190
Thank you.

404
00:14:55.190 --> 00:14:57.340
I've got a second question.

405
00:14:57.340 --> 00:15:00.350
It's from Vicky B. from Magnolia Middle School

406
00:15:00.350 --> 00:15:01.673
in Joppa, Maryland.

407
00:15:02.790 --> 00:15:04.640
What made you want to be a scientist?

408
00:15:06.223 --> 00:15:08.342
I got this one.

409
00:15:08.342 --> 00:15:10.410
(scientists laughing)

410
00:15:10.410 --> 00:15:13.250
So my earth science teacher in third grade,

411
00:15:13.250 --> 00:15:15.730
I don't know if you guys have an awesome teacher

412
00:15:15.730 --> 00:15:17.820
maybe in sixth grade, third grade.

413
00:15:17.820 --> 00:15:19.962
So I started doing Science Fair

414
00:15:19.962 --> 00:15:22.260
and I joined the Science Club,

415
00:15:22.260 --> 00:15:24.330
so if you guys have something like that,

416
00:15:24.330 --> 00:15:25.700
you might wanna join.

417
00:15:25.700 --> 00:15:27.430
And she took us caving,

418
00:15:27.430 --> 00:15:30.550
she took us on our first wild tour

419
00:15:30.550 --> 00:15:33.670
and we went caving and I realized I love rocks,

420
00:15:33.670 --> 00:15:35.660
I love caves, that's what I want to do.

421
00:15:35.660 --> 00:15:37.050
I don't know how I'm gonna do it,

422
00:15:37.050 --> 00:15:39.430
and then I realized I could study geology,

423
00:15:39.430 --> 00:15:42.270
but it was something that was calling me

424
00:15:42.270 --> 00:15:43.773
since I was very, very young.

425
00:15:44.910 --> 00:15:47.440
Yeah, and my fifth grade science teacher,

426
00:15:47.440 --> 00:15:50.610
Miss Hamilton, I'm from West Tennessee

427
00:15:50.610 --> 00:15:55.011
and our gravel is actually, our driveways and all,

428
00:15:55.011 --> 00:15:57.840
loaded with fossils and she brought them in,

429
00:15:57.840 --> 00:15:59.670
explained what fossils were,

430
00:15:59.670 --> 00:16:02.102
and of course, we had a gravel driveway

431
00:16:02.102 --> 00:16:04.972
and once I started noticing and recognizing

432
00:16:04.972 --> 00:16:06.615
all the different kinds of animals

433
00:16:06.615 --> 00:16:09.020
in fossils that are there,

434
00:16:09.020 --> 00:16:10.730
I started bringing them in buckets

435
00:16:10.730 --> 00:16:12.190
and bringing them into the house.

436
00:16:12.190 --> 00:16:14.680
So most of the driveway ended up in the house.

437
00:16:14.680 --> 00:16:17.530
And so, actually, that was my very first time

438
00:16:17.530 --> 00:16:19.540
and introduced to these fossils,

439
00:16:19.540 --> 00:16:22.620
and I have been in paleontology ever since.

440
00:16:22.620 --> 00:16:24.380
I had a similar experience to Barb

441
00:16:24.380 --> 00:16:25.430
with the buckets of rocks.

442
00:16:25.430 --> 00:16:27.265
I grew up on the shores of Lake Michigan.

443
00:16:27.265 --> 00:16:29.262
Michigan, anybody?

444
00:16:29.262 --> 00:16:30.190
(scientists laughing)

445
00:16:30.190 --> 00:16:31.023
Yeah!

446
00:16:31.023 --> 00:16:32.520
And I brought buckets of rocks back

447
00:16:32.520 --> 00:16:33.530
from the shore of Lake Michigan.

448
00:16:33.530 --> 00:16:36.310
My dad would take us out, we'd look for agates and fossils,

449
00:16:36.310 --> 00:16:39.533
Petoskey stones and things like that, so yeah.

450
00:16:39.533 --> 00:16:42.380
Very cool, thank you.

451
00:16:42.380 --> 00:16:45.960
So it's interesting, the rich history that we have

452
00:16:45.960 --> 00:16:48.340
and that we can learn by looking at the minerals

453
00:16:48.340 --> 00:16:49.800
and things that are found.

454
00:16:49.800 --> 00:16:51.760
We will actually jump to a video

455
00:16:51.760 --> 00:16:54.220
so we can learn about the rich, cultural heritage

456
00:16:54.220 --> 00:16:56.338
of the native indigenous peoples of this land

457
00:16:56.338 --> 00:17:00.713
and how caves relate to their culture.

458
00:17:01.732 --> 00:17:02.882
So how 'bout the video?

459
00:17:04.440 --> 00:17:06.309
Hi, I'm Christopher Koeppel.

460
00:17:06.309 --> 00:17:09.600
At the Forest Service, we have lots of lands

461
00:17:09.600 --> 00:17:10.760
that we manage,

462
00:17:10.760 --> 00:17:13.278
and most of those lands, if not all of those lands,

463
00:17:13.278 --> 00:17:16.500
were once ancestral lands to Native Americans.

464
00:17:16.500 --> 00:17:18.330
Now Native Americans have been here

465
00:17:18.330 --> 00:17:22.910
on our continent for at least 15 to 17,000 years,

466
00:17:22.910 --> 00:17:24.520
maybe even older

467
00:17:24.520 --> 00:17:27.290
and they've been managing and using and enjoying

468
00:17:27.290 --> 00:17:31.930
the resources of this great nation for millennia.

469
00:17:31.930 --> 00:17:34.590
And many of those lands are now, of course,

470
00:17:34.590 --> 00:17:36.170
managed by the Forest Service.

471
00:17:36.170 --> 00:17:38.386
Now, we also have other resources

472
00:17:38.386 --> 00:17:41.130
that other people like to enjoy,

473
00:17:41.130 --> 00:17:45.430
so we need to balance our commitment to the American public,

474
00:17:45.430 --> 00:17:48.140
but also to our Native American partners,

475
00:17:48.140 --> 00:17:49.730
and in finding that balance,

476
00:17:49.730 --> 00:17:52.091
we have to find a way that we can be respectful

477
00:17:52.091 --> 00:17:56.090
of Native Americans' spiritual beliefs and religious beliefs

478
00:17:56.090 --> 00:17:59.700
as well as what people come to our forests and recreate.

479
00:17:59.700 --> 00:18:01.350
Now, I'm not Native American.

480
00:18:01.350 --> 00:18:03.220
I work for the Office of Tribal Relations

481
00:18:03.220 --> 00:18:05.360
and so when I speak to you today

482
00:18:05.360 --> 00:18:07.528
about the sacredness of caves,

483
00:18:07.528 --> 00:18:10.380
what I'm doing is I'm imparting the messages

484
00:18:10.380 --> 00:18:13.240
that Native American tribes that partner with us

485
00:18:13.240 --> 00:18:16.180
have asked that we remember.

486
00:18:16.180 --> 00:18:20.120
Now, some caves and their relationship with Native Americans

487
00:18:20.120 --> 00:18:24.290
go back millennia, and for many Native Americans today,

488
00:18:24.290 --> 00:18:25.920
caves are sacred spaces.

489
00:18:25.920 --> 00:18:29.080
In the Dakotas, along the Black Hills, are many caves,

490
00:18:29.080 --> 00:18:31.280
one in particular called Wind Cave, that,

491
00:18:31.280 --> 00:18:33.360
for the Lakota people, is their origin.

492
00:18:33.360 --> 00:18:35.990
It is the place that they have told the Forest Service

493
00:18:35.990 --> 00:18:38.900
they come from, millennia ago.

494
00:18:38.900 --> 00:18:42.070
There are caves that have been explored

495
00:18:42.070 --> 00:18:43.520
by Native Americans.

496
00:18:43.520 --> 00:18:46.060
You may have heard of Mammoth Cave in Kentucky.

497
00:18:46.060 --> 00:18:48.670
Well, Native Americans have been exploring Mammoth Cave

498
00:18:48.670 --> 00:18:52.650
and getting resources for at least 6,000 years.

499
00:18:52.650 --> 00:18:54.300
That's a very, very long time ago.

500
00:18:54.300 --> 00:18:56.900
Ancient Native Americans have put rock art on caves.

501
00:18:56.900 --> 00:18:58.390
This can be pictographs.

502
00:18:58.390 --> 00:19:02.791
This can be forms of animals, ancestral images,

503
00:19:02.791 --> 00:19:06.180
plants, anything that's spiritually significant

504
00:19:06.180 --> 00:19:07.910
to those people at that time.

505
00:19:07.910 --> 00:19:10.350
And even though that was done a very long time ago,

506
00:19:10.350 --> 00:19:13.050
it is still significant to Native Americans today.

507
00:19:13.050 --> 00:19:16.460
For some Native Americans, caves can be origin places.

508
00:19:16.460 --> 00:19:19.717
For others, they can be places where ancestors are resting.

509
00:19:19.717 --> 00:19:22.940
For others, they can play an important part

510
00:19:22.940 --> 00:19:24.680
in their oral history

511
00:19:24.680 --> 00:19:28.610
and the tales the elders impart to the children.

512
00:19:28.610 --> 00:19:30.920
So caves have been an important part,

513
00:19:30.920 --> 00:19:34.430
spiritually and physically, of Native American culture.

514
00:19:34.430 --> 00:19:36.790
In the past, certainly, and we talked about

515
00:19:36.790 --> 00:19:39.150
a lot of the ancient uses of caves,

516
00:19:39.150 --> 00:19:41.940
but they're also sacred places today.

517
00:19:41.940 --> 00:19:46.013
They're part of a living, holistic, larger sacred landscape

518
00:19:46.013 --> 00:19:50.180
that is significant to Native American tribes

519
00:19:50.180 --> 00:19:53.410
and our partners who are tribal nations.

520
00:19:53.410 --> 00:19:55.970
And at the Forest Service, we try and find a balance

521
00:19:55.970 --> 00:19:57.820
and work with our tribal partners

522
00:19:57.820 --> 00:20:01.070
to make sure that we respect that sacredness

523
00:20:01.070 --> 00:20:04.400
and respect and balance the many uses

524
00:20:04.400 --> 00:20:07.053
that people come to our forests to enjoy.

525
00:20:09.670 --> 00:20:11.470
Sweet.

526
00:20:11.470 --> 00:20:14.430
Quick questions from online.

527
00:20:14.430 --> 00:20:17.303
By the way, thanks, Chris, for helping us with that video.

528
00:20:17.303 --> 00:20:20.379
So quick questions from online.

529
00:20:20.379 --> 00:20:23.060
This was from Davina from Magnolia.

530
00:20:23.060 --> 00:20:25.610
Hi, again, from Magnolia Middle School in Joppa, Maryland.

531
00:20:25.610 --> 00:20:27.090
Thanks again for watchin'.

532
00:20:27.090 --> 00:20:28.740
How can you remember the difference

533
00:20:28.740 --> 00:20:30.440
between a stalactite and a stalagmite.

534
00:20:30.440 --> 00:20:31.600
Wait, wait, wait!

535
00:20:31.600 --> 00:20:33.090
It's my time to shine, hold on.

536
00:20:33.090 --> 00:20:33.923
So here we go.

537
00:20:33.923 --> 00:20:34.800
(scientists laughing)

538
00:20:34.800 --> 00:20:36.900
So stalactites are the ones

539
00:20:36.900 --> 00:20:38.980
that are hanging tight to the ceiling,

540
00:20:38.980 --> 00:20:41.050
all right, so picture that, they're holdin' on tight

541
00:20:41.050 --> 00:20:42.330
and they're hanging down,

542
00:20:42.330 --> 00:20:44.540
whereas stalagmites are the ones

543
00:20:44.540 --> 00:20:47.500
that might get big and tall one day

544
00:20:47.500 --> 00:20:49.790
from the drips that are falling down on them.

545
00:20:49.790 --> 00:20:50.940
All right?

546
00:20:50.940 --> 00:20:52.765
Yeah, (laughs) I had one.

547
00:20:52.765 --> 00:20:56.500
All right, then I have another one from online.

548
00:20:56.500 --> 00:20:58.560
This is from the sixth grade students

549
00:20:58.560 --> 00:21:02.460
at Mesa View Elementary School in Grants, New Mexico.

550
00:21:02.460 --> 00:21:06.073
What kind of equipment do I need to explore caves?

551
00:21:07.109 --> 00:21:08.720
Well, you gotta start with a helmet,

552
00:21:08.720 --> 00:21:10.983
you gotta protect your head, right?

553
00:21:10.983 --> 00:21:12.340
And then you gotta have boots on.

554
00:21:12.340 --> 00:21:14.376
We've all got boots on today.

555
00:21:14.376 --> 00:21:16.605
Gosh, what else could you need?

556
00:21:16.605 --> 00:21:18.150
Three sources of light.

557
00:21:18.150 --> 00:21:20.040
Yes, three sources of light.

558
00:21:20.040 --> 00:21:22.340
Elbow pads, knee pads, in case you have to crawl

559
00:21:22.340 --> 00:21:24.230
like we talked about earlier.

560
00:21:24.230 --> 00:21:26.340
And very important, you should always have

561
00:21:26.340 --> 00:21:27.680
other people with you,

562
00:21:27.680 --> 00:21:30.885
not just by yourself, you should go with a group of people.

563
00:21:30.885 --> 00:21:33.880
I appreciate that you always bring back the important,

564
00:21:33.880 --> 00:21:35.975
the people in caves, it's not just the resources,

565
00:21:35.975 --> 00:21:37.191
it's the people that are all brought together.

566
00:21:37.191 --> 00:21:38.024
The team.

567
00:21:38.024 --> 00:21:39.803
They might help you get out of the cave.

568
00:21:39.803 --> 00:21:41.400
Yes, in case you get lost.

569
00:21:41.400 --> 00:21:42.470
Yes.

570
00:21:42.470 --> 00:21:44.187
I got lost this morning.

571
00:21:44.187 --> 00:21:46.954
(scientists laughing)

572
00:21:46.954 --> 00:21:50.520
So, how about Barb?

573
00:21:50.520 --> 00:21:52.160
Can we talk paleontology?

574
00:21:52.160 --> 00:21:54.610
I know lots of people have questions

575
00:21:54.610 --> 00:21:57.012
about, yup.
Absolutely.

576
00:21:57.012 --> 00:21:58.660
Just to tell you about,

577
00:21:58.660 --> 00:22:01.280
a little bit about paleontology in caves.

578
00:22:01.280 --> 00:22:04.210
Caves sometimes have very large openings

579
00:22:04.210 --> 00:22:07.920
and they go deep and they provide a stable environment

580
00:22:07.920 --> 00:22:11.200
at the same temperature and humidity,

581
00:22:11.200 --> 00:22:13.260
and sometimes, a lot of animals,

582
00:22:13.260 --> 00:22:16.617
large animals and small, will use the caves

583
00:22:16.617 --> 00:22:20.770
as shelter to hide or to live throughout,

584
00:22:20.770 --> 00:22:23.670
or just to hang out and then go outside

585
00:22:23.670 --> 00:22:25.060
and bring in dinner.

586
00:22:25.060 --> 00:22:29.221
So with this, one of the animals that is found in caves

587
00:22:29.221 --> 00:22:33.220
is a giant ground sloth.

588
00:22:33.220 --> 00:22:38.040
This is a claw, one claw, similar to your fingernail,

589
00:22:38.040 --> 00:22:40.040
like a cat claw or whatever,

590
00:22:40.040 --> 00:22:43.958
and this was from a giant ground sloth.

591
00:22:43.958 --> 00:22:46.980
These animals became extinct

592
00:22:46.980 --> 00:22:50.510
somewhere around 10,000 years ago

593
00:22:50.510 --> 00:22:54.421
and they think that humans actually overhunted them

594
00:22:54.421 --> 00:22:56.980
'cause their large and slow and they were easy to catch,

595
00:22:56.980 --> 00:22:58.860
plus, since they were so big,

596
00:22:58.860 --> 00:23:01.690
they threw a really big barbecue all of the time,

597
00:23:01.690 --> 00:23:03.941
so it could feed a lot of people.

598
00:23:03.941 --> 00:23:04.774
That's what I was picturing.

599
00:23:04.774 --> 00:23:09.680
Yep, and so another animal that is also found in caves

600
00:23:09.680 --> 00:23:12.690
and is big is an elephant.

601
00:23:12.690 --> 00:23:14.660
Remember I mentioned elephants before?

602
00:23:14.660 --> 00:23:17.731
Mammoths and mastodons lived in,

603
00:23:17.731 --> 00:23:22.090
did not live in caves but the animals that predated on them

604
00:23:22.090 --> 00:23:24.980
or would capture them and kill them

605
00:23:24.980 --> 00:23:29.400
would actually bring body parts in to feed the family.

606
00:23:29.400 --> 00:23:34.400
So we'll find a lot of this fossil material from elephants.

607
00:23:36.330 --> 00:23:38.810
Have we ever found any fossilized toothbrushes,

608
00:23:38.810 --> 00:23:40.242
'cause that thing is huge.

609
00:23:40.242 --> 00:23:43.149
No, not yet, but we'll keep looking.

610
00:23:43.149 --> 00:23:44.950
(scientists laughing)

611
00:23:44.950 --> 00:23:48.000
You keep on digging, thank you so much, Barb.

612
00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:50.270
Another online question.

613
00:23:50.270 --> 00:23:54.860
This actually is from some of our friends in Ohio

614
00:23:54.860 --> 00:23:57.080
from Maddox, a third grader

615
00:23:57.080 --> 00:24:00.970
from Absorbent Minds Montessori School in Ohio.

616
00:24:00.970 --> 00:24:03.120
The question is do you collect rocks from caves

617
00:24:03.120 --> 00:24:04.300
and sell them?

618
00:24:04.300 --> 00:24:06.870
Do you do the same with fossils?

619
00:24:06.870 --> 00:24:08.279
Oh, no, we don't.

620
00:24:08.279 --> 00:24:10.080
No, not at all.

621
00:24:10.080 --> 00:24:11.787
Barb, you wanna talk about fossils?

622
00:24:11.787 --> 00:24:13.337
Oh, oh, well, sure.

623
00:24:13.337 --> 00:24:16.510
It actually depends on who owns the cave.

624
00:24:16.510 --> 00:24:19.600
So if it's a federal, owned by or managed by

625
00:24:19.600 --> 00:24:21.550
a federal land management agency,

626
00:24:21.550 --> 00:24:24.953
that means the cave belongs to you,

627
00:24:24.953 --> 00:24:29.370
and so we do not sell any fossils or anything

628
00:24:29.370 --> 00:24:31.270
from the caves.

629
00:24:31.270 --> 00:24:34.528
However, if it's from a private cave,

630
00:24:34.528 --> 00:24:38.960
private ownership, then they may make that decision

631
00:24:38.960 --> 00:24:42.509
to sell material that's from the cave.

632
00:24:42.509 --> 00:24:46.280
But otherwise, for fossils, that's the answer.

633
00:24:46.280 --> 00:24:49.570
We like to follow leave no trace principles, right,

634
00:24:49.570 --> 00:24:51.280
so leave everything where you found it,

635
00:24:51.280 --> 00:24:53.910
don't take anything out of the cave with you,

636
00:24:53.910 --> 00:24:56.300
have no impact other than just your footprints.

637
00:24:56.300 --> 00:24:59.468
So in Forest Service and National Park Service caves,

638
00:24:59.468 --> 00:25:01.820
leave everything where it is,

639
00:25:01.820 --> 00:25:03.560
appreciate it where it is so that somebody else

640
00:25:03.560 --> 00:25:05.600
coming after you can do the same thing.

641
00:25:05.600 --> 00:25:08.428
And be sure not to touch the formations

642
00:25:08.428 --> 00:25:11.020
because they're very sensitive

643
00:25:11.020 --> 00:25:12.740
and the oils from your hands

644
00:25:12.740 --> 00:25:16.400
can prevent those stalagmites and stalactites from growing.

645
00:25:16.400 --> 00:25:19.130
So we wanna be very careful when we're in a cave

646
00:25:19.130 --> 00:25:22.000
not to knock down things, not to break things,

647
00:25:22.000 --> 00:25:24.960
and if we see somebody that is breaking things,

648
00:25:24.960 --> 00:25:27.720
let an adult know, let a park ranger know

649
00:25:27.720 --> 00:25:31.340
or a Forest Service park employee so that

650
00:25:31.340 --> 00:25:34.207
they can do the right thing

651
00:25:34.207 --> 00:25:37.110
because we need to protect those resources

652
00:25:37.110 --> 00:25:38.793
for future generations.

653
00:25:41.355 --> 00:25:42.873
Thank you so much.

654
00:25:44.080 --> 00:25:46.030
How about another question from Rippon?

655
00:25:46.880 --> 00:25:47.713
Leslie.

656
00:25:52.580 --> 00:25:54.870
What is the rarest animal found,

657
00:25:54.870 --> 00:25:56.120
that you guys have found?

658
00:25:58.044 --> 00:25:59.733
Can you repeat the question?

659
00:25:59.733 --> 00:26:02.535
What is the rarest animal that you have found?

660
00:26:02.535 --> 00:26:04.660
Rarest.
Rarest animal

661
00:26:04.660 --> 00:26:05.920
that we have found.

662
00:26:05.920 --> 00:26:07.290
That may be a good question

663
00:26:07.290 --> 00:26:08.123
for Barb.
For Barb.

664
00:26:08.123 --> 00:26:09.315
Since her animals are extra rare.

665
00:26:09.315 --> 00:26:10.972
(scientists laughing)

666
00:26:10.972 --> 00:26:12.650
I actually deal in wildlife,

667
00:26:12.650 --> 00:26:13.853
prehistoric wildlife.

668
00:26:14.696 --> 00:26:17.790
But any way, usually, I'm guessing, and it's pure guess,

669
00:26:17.790 --> 00:26:20.070
is that they're the salamanders

670
00:26:20.070 --> 00:26:23.340
and things that have gone completely white

671
00:26:23.340 --> 00:26:26.170
and they're actually blind because there's no light.

672
00:26:26.170 --> 00:26:29.090
And so I would assume that there's not many animals

673
00:26:29.090 --> 00:26:33.340
that have become so dependent on the cave environment

674
00:26:33.340 --> 00:26:35.330
that those would be rare.

675
00:26:35.330 --> 00:26:38.702
I'm sure there's more, but that's my knowledge.

676
00:26:38.702 --> 00:26:40.210
There you go, thank you.

677
00:26:40.210 --> 00:26:41.060
Thanks, Leslie.

678
00:26:41.060 --> 00:26:43.130
Hey, we're actually gonna put a pause on questions,

679
00:26:43.130 --> 00:26:44.660
so if you have some more, hang on,

680
00:26:44.660 --> 00:26:46.810
because we have a tour coming through.

681
00:26:46.810 --> 00:26:48.410
This cave is actually a working cave,

682
00:26:48.410 --> 00:26:50.512
a working show cave, and there's a tour group coming on.

683
00:26:50.512 --> 00:26:51.623
Yeah.

684
00:26:54.160 --> 00:26:56.580
Hi, now, you're safe, I promise.

685
00:26:56.580 --> 00:26:58.750
You can walk through there if you'd like.

686
00:26:58.750 --> 00:27:00.649
Just be careful of the mic.

687
00:27:00.649 --> 00:27:03.840
(woman speaking)

688
00:27:03.840 --> 00:27:05.232
If you look up that way,

689
00:27:05.232 --> 00:27:06.862
you can see one of the pieces of it,

690
00:27:06.862 --> 00:27:07.695
you'll see it.

691
00:27:07.695 --> 00:27:10.862
(calming organ music)

692
00:27:46.150 --> 00:27:47.210
The sound that you're hearing

693
00:27:47.210 --> 00:27:51.830
is coming from the stalactite pipe organ.

694
00:27:51.830 --> 00:27:54.200
It's actually the largest musical instrument in the world

695
00:27:54.200 --> 00:27:56.690
and it's covering over 3 1/2 acres.

696
00:27:56.690 --> 00:27:59.640
There's over five miles just of wires

697
00:27:59.640 --> 00:28:00.990
running to make this thing work.

698
00:28:00.990 --> 00:28:02.830
It took them a full three years to build

699
00:28:02.830 --> 00:28:05.093
and they started back in 1954.

700
00:28:06.815 --> 00:28:09.870
There are little small electronic mallets

701
00:28:09.870 --> 00:28:11.450
that strike the stalactites

702
00:28:11.450 --> 00:28:12.730
and they had to find the right ones

703
00:28:12.730 --> 00:28:14.090
to make the right sound

704
00:28:14.090 --> 00:28:16.630
and that's why it's spread out so far.

705
00:28:16.630 --> 00:28:19.130
They had to find the right one, hit it,

706
00:28:19.130 --> 00:28:20.140
make a little vibration,

707
00:28:20.140 --> 00:28:22.180
and then little microphones pick that up.

708
00:28:22.180 --> 00:28:26.042
And it's tuned, actually, to the concert pitch.

709
00:28:26.042 --> 00:28:29.209
(calming organ music)

710
00:28:35.870 --> 00:28:37.530
Thanks, Allison, for bringing your group through.

711
00:28:37.530 --> 00:28:39.257
Hey, guys, thank you.

712
00:28:39.257 --> 00:28:40.924
Thank you.

713
00:28:45.810 --> 00:28:48.320
Johanna, you said you like caves for the people.

714
00:28:48.320 --> 00:28:51.220
Check it out, this cave is actually drawing people.

715
00:28:51.220 --> 00:28:53.670
Yeah, it's great, maybe some budding new cave scientists

716
00:28:53.670 --> 00:28:54.550
in the group.

717
00:28:54.550 --> 00:28:55.570
I saw some young ones.

718
00:28:55.570 --> 00:28:58.547
Or concert pianists, concert organists (laughs).

719
00:28:59.600 --> 00:29:02.793
So now you can say you heard a rock concert today.

720
00:29:02.793 --> 00:29:04.900
(all laughing)

721
00:29:04.900 --> 00:29:06.893
Okay, they got it, right, good.

722
00:29:06.893 --> 00:29:09.460
Another question from Rippon.

723
00:29:09.460 --> 00:29:10.550
Come on, bring it on.

724
00:29:10.550 --> 00:29:11.880
Ooh, we got lots of hands comin' up.

725
00:29:11.880 --> 00:29:14.020
I hope we have time to get to everybody, okay?

726
00:29:14.020 --> 00:29:15.600
My name is Monica and my question is

727
00:29:15.600 --> 00:29:18.090
why is it important to learn about caves?

728
00:29:18.090 --> 00:29:19.590
Interesting, thanks, Monica.

729
00:29:21.370 --> 00:29:22.850
That's a great question

730
00:29:22.850 --> 00:29:23.956
as well.
Why it's important.

731
00:29:23.956 --> 00:29:24.789
Well, thank you, Monica.

732
00:29:24.789 --> 00:29:26.580
So there's so many different reasons

733
00:29:26.580 --> 00:29:29.200
why learning about caves is super important.

734
00:29:29.200 --> 00:29:30.780
There's a lot we can learn from caves.

735
00:29:30.780 --> 00:29:32.916
We learn about where our water can come from,

736
00:29:32.916 --> 00:29:36.363
we can learn about past climates,

737
00:29:38.372 --> 00:29:40.900
we can be inspired to make beautiful art,

738
00:29:40.900 --> 00:29:43.700
so there's a whole range of reasons why.

739
00:29:43.700 --> 00:29:46.920
Different ecosystems, so even though

740
00:29:46.920 --> 00:29:49.220
you think this cave is bare

741
00:29:49.220 --> 00:29:53.320
and there's only stalactites hanging from the ceiling,

742
00:29:53.320 --> 00:29:55.688
there's many animals that use the cave to live here

743
00:29:55.688 --> 00:29:57.180
and microbes.

744
00:29:57.180 --> 00:29:59.310
And like Barb said, there are also fossils,

745
00:29:59.310 --> 00:30:04.110
so caves are great repositories for different artifacts.

746
00:30:04.110 --> 00:30:08.770
And we had found fossils that date from millions of years,

747
00:30:08.770 --> 00:30:12.630
we're also finding baskets or different things

748
00:30:12.630 --> 00:30:15.160
that other humans left behind

749
00:30:15.160 --> 00:30:16.670
when they were living on caves

750
00:30:16.670 --> 00:30:19.080
and it's important to preserve them.

751
00:30:19.080 --> 00:30:21.520
So there is so much to caves,

752
00:30:21.520 --> 00:30:24.873
not just the dark hole in the ground.

753
00:30:24.873 --> 00:30:25.880
(scientists laughing)

754
00:30:25.880 --> 00:30:26.880
Thank you for that question.

755
00:30:26.880 --> 00:30:27.870
An interesting follow up,

756
00:30:27.870 --> 00:30:30.600
this one came from online from Gilmore Academy,

757
00:30:30.600 --> 00:30:32.480
'cause it's an interesting followup.

758
00:30:32.480 --> 00:30:33.730
They're in Mills, Ohio, by the way.

759
00:30:33.730 --> 00:30:35.870
Lots of Ohio love today.

760
00:30:35.870 --> 00:30:38.040
Do think that there are plant and animal species

761
00:30:38.040 --> 00:30:40.260
that we haven't discovered yet?

762
00:30:40.260 --> 00:30:42.220
Absolutely.

763
00:30:42.220 --> 00:30:43.940
We're always finding new things.

764
00:30:43.940 --> 00:30:46.470
That's why it's always the best thing to do

765
00:30:46.470 --> 00:30:49.740
is to be very careful if you ever enter a cave

766
00:30:49.740 --> 00:30:52.030
and you happen to may be the first one

767
00:30:52.030 --> 00:30:55.260
to always report it to the owner

768
00:30:55.260 --> 00:30:57.040
or to a scientist or someone

769
00:30:57.040 --> 00:31:00.410
because there may be something brand new that's in there.

770
00:31:00.410 --> 00:31:05.410
And even though caves may not be named after people,

771
00:31:05.930 --> 00:31:07.592
but fossils can be.

772
00:31:07.592 --> 00:31:08.830
(Johanna laughs)

773
00:31:08.830 --> 00:31:10.510
Remember that, so yeah.

774
00:31:10.510 --> 00:31:13.840
Yeah, and there's so many caves around the world

775
00:31:13.840 --> 00:31:16.030
that haven't been discovered yet.

776
00:31:16.030 --> 00:31:18.520
There's still the possibility to find new caves

777
00:31:18.520 --> 00:31:21.890
and with those caves, new species and new things

778
00:31:21.890 --> 00:31:24.410
that live there in those environments, so...

779
00:31:24.410 --> 00:31:25.933
Fascinating.

780
00:31:26.840 --> 00:31:27.937
I have a couple of online questions.

781
00:31:27.937 --> 00:31:29.240
How about this one?

782
00:31:29.240 --> 00:31:31.500
Why are caves different temperatures?

783
00:31:31.500 --> 00:31:32.780
And then the second part of that is

784
00:31:32.780 --> 00:31:35.430
what is average, and what cave is the coldest

785
00:31:35.430 --> 00:31:37.700
and what cave is the hottest?

786
00:31:37.700 --> 00:31:39.041
That's a lot of questions,
What is average?

787
00:31:39.041 --> 00:31:40.373
By the way.

788
00:31:40.373 --> 00:31:42.620
That depends where the cave is located.

789
00:31:42.620 --> 00:31:45.230
So it's going to be the mean annual temperature

790
00:31:45.230 --> 00:31:47.830
of the location of the cave, so around here,

791
00:31:47.830 --> 00:31:50.082
it's 54 or 55 degrees.

792
00:31:50.082 --> 00:31:54.190
And if we go to the tropics, I'm from Puerto Rico

793
00:31:54.190 --> 00:31:57.310
so if we go down there, the caves are going to be warmer

794
00:31:57.310 --> 00:31:59.910
because the mean annual temperature can be,

795
00:31:59.910 --> 00:32:01.720
for the cave, in the 70s.

796
00:32:01.720 --> 00:32:04.203
So it's gonna be hotter and you don't need

797
00:32:04.203 --> 00:32:05.036
as many clothes.

798
00:32:05.036 --> 00:32:05.869
So it depends.

799
00:32:05.869 --> 00:32:09.860
If you're in the desert, the cave is gonna be warmer, so...

800
00:32:09.860 --> 00:32:11.400
Yeah, and caves up high in the alpine

801
00:32:11.400 --> 00:32:12.850
can have ice in them and you have to have

802
00:32:12.850 --> 00:32:15.120
even more layers and clothes and hats

803
00:32:15.120 --> 00:32:17.030
when you're mapping those caves, and so...

804
00:32:17.030 --> 00:32:18.920
Yeah, Johanna used to work in Alaska.

805
00:32:18.920 --> 00:32:20.410
I'm sure those caves were cold.

806
00:32:20.410 --> 00:32:21.516
They were cold.

807
00:32:21.516 --> 00:32:22.660
(scientists laughing)

808
00:32:22.660 --> 00:32:24.220
All right, this one isn't coming from online,

809
00:32:24.220 --> 00:32:25.440
but up here.

810
00:32:25.440 --> 00:32:27.090
So you're in a cave in the desert.

811
00:32:27.090 --> 00:32:29.405
Is it moist and damp like this one?

812
00:32:29.405 --> 00:32:34.405
It depends on the mean rainfall for that area,

813
00:32:35.810 --> 00:32:37.650
but for the cave to be formed,

814
00:32:37.650 --> 00:32:39.126
they had to have enough rain

815
00:32:39.126 --> 00:32:41.073
to be formed throughout the years.

816
00:32:43.340 --> 00:32:44.343
Interesting.

817
00:32:45.286 --> 00:32:46.984
Did we already do that?

818
00:32:46.984 --> 00:32:48.710
I think we did (laughs).

819
00:32:49.690 --> 00:32:52.180
Somebody asked how do you keep from getting lost.

820
00:32:52.180 --> 00:32:53.704
The answer is to stick with them.

821
00:32:53.704 --> 00:32:55.000
(scientists laughing)

822
00:32:55.000 --> 00:32:57.075
Did you mention, Amtchat got a little lost this morning?

823
00:32:57.075 --> 00:32:58.402
(scientists laughing)

824
00:32:58.402 --> 00:33:00.205
Did we mention that?

825
00:33:00.205 --> 00:33:01.830
(scientists laughing)

826
00:33:01.830 --> 00:33:03.760
Focus, focus.

827
00:33:03.760 --> 00:33:04.707
Okay, here we go, another question online.

828
00:33:04.707 --> 00:33:06.846
Always go with somebody that knows where they're going.

829
00:33:06.846 --> 00:33:08.070
(scientists laughing)

830
00:33:08.070 --> 00:33:10.060
How do you join a caving club?

831
00:33:10.060 --> 00:33:12.120
Oh, and that's a good followup

832
00:33:12.120 --> 00:33:14.976
because Amtchat joined us as a caving club.

833
00:33:14.976 --> 00:33:16.990
(scientists laughing)

834
00:33:16.990 --> 00:33:19.270
But the National Speleological Society,

835
00:33:19.270 --> 00:33:21.730
which is one of our Forest Service partners,

836
00:33:21.730 --> 00:33:24.500
has caving clubs across the country, grottoes,

837
00:33:24.500 --> 00:33:27.410
that welcome new members, teach them how to go caving,

838
00:33:27.410 --> 00:33:29.950
teach them about cave conservation and ethics,

839
00:33:29.950 --> 00:33:32.750
and often they lead trips for new cavers

840
00:33:32.750 --> 00:33:35.130
so that they can explore in caves.

841
00:33:35.130 --> 00:33:37.560
Also, you can always go out

842
00:33:37.560 --> 00:33:40.840
to one of our National Caves Association partner caves

843
00:33:40.840 --> 00:33:43.120
such as this cave here at Luray Caverns

844
00:33:43.120 --> 00:33:44.570
and one of their great tour guides

845
00:33:44.570 --> 00:33:46.875
will take you on a trip so that you can experience a cave

846
00:33:46.875 --> 00:33:49.770
for yourself without any of that gear we talked about

847
00:33:49.770 --> 00:33:53.820
like helmets and elbow pads, boots, those sorts of things.

848
00:33:53.820 --> 00:33:55.270
So there's lots of different ways,

849
00:33:55.270 --> 00:33:57.150
depending on what you're interest level is

850
00:33:57.150 --> 00:33:59.240
and how adventuresome you are.

851
00:33:59.240 --> 00:34:00.975
You wanna share the website?

852
00:34:00.975 --> 00:34:02.460
Oh, yes, the website

853
00:34:02.460 --> 00:34:04.474
for the National Speleological Society is

854
00:34:04.474 --> 00:34:07.576
www.caves.org.

855
00:34:07.576 --> 00:34:09.070
That's easy.

856
00:34:09.070 --> 00:34:09.903
It's super easy.

857
00:34:09.903 --> 00:34:12.307
It's like our website, minus the live part (laughs).

858
00:34:13.207 --> 00:34:14.610
Cool.

859
00:34:14.610 --> 00:34:18.037
So we've heard the terms caves, caverns.

860
00:34:18.037 --> 00:34:21.160
I have a question of what is a cenote

861
00:34:21.160 --> 00:34:23.110
and how do they form?

862
00:34:23.110 --> 00:34:24.110
That's a good one.

863
00:34:24.110 --> 00:34:24.943
I'll take it.

864
00:34:24.943 --> 00:34:26.315
Bring it on.

865
00:34:26.315 --> 00:34:27.400
(scientists laughing)

866
00:34:27.400 --> 00:34:30.590
Cenotes are usually found in the Yucatan Peninsula

867
00:34:30.590 --> 00:34:33.640
in Mexico and they are karst depressions,

868
00:34:33.640 --> 00:34:37.950
so they're large depressions where the roof of the cave

869
00:34:37.950 --> 00:34:40.110
has collapsed and they have steep walls

870
00:34:40.110 --> 00:34:43.530
and usually they have water inside the cenotes.

871
00:34:43.530 --> 00:34:47.565
And you have freshwater that's going to flow into the ocean

872
00:34:47.565 --> 00:34:49.810
where you have saltwater.

873
00:34:49.810 --> 00:34:51.420
So that's a cenote.

874
00:34:51.420 --> 00:34:52.523
And it's a Mayan word.

875
00:34:55.707 --> 00:34:57.561
They're beautiful.
Okay, I'm tryin'

876
00:34:57.561 --> 00:34:59.502
to picture that, cave, ceiling fell in.

877
00:34:59.502 --> 00:35:00.530
Um-hm, and you have steep walls

878
00:35:00.530 --> 00:35:02.750
and then there's water inside the cenote.

879
00:35:02.750 --> 00:35:03.820
Can I swim in there?

880
00:35:03.820 --> 00:35:05.905
Yes, of course, some people do.

881
00:35:05.905 --> 00:35:09.232
(laughs) write that one down, folks.

882
00:35:09.232 --> 00:35:10.120
Vacation.

883
00:35:10.120 --> 00:35:10.953
(scientists laughing)

884
00:35:10.953 --> 00:35:12.102
Let's take a question.

885
00:35:12.102 --> 00:35:13.320
There's so many, I saw tons of hands goin' up.

886
00:35:13.320 --> 00:35:15.500
I'm just gonna ask somebody from near the front

887
00:35:15.500 --> 00:35:18.190
or I love the folks in the back, too, I promise.

888
00:35:18.190 --> 00:35:20.083
Come out, what's your question, brother?

889
00:35:20.965 --> 00:35:21.798
My question is---

890
00:35:21.798 --> 00:35:22.900
Wait, wait, wait, one more time,

891
00:35:22.900 --> 00:35:23.733
what's your name?

892
00:35:23.733 --> 00:35:24.566
(scientists laughing)

893
00:35:24.566 --> 00:35:25.399
My name is Dejuan and my question was

894
00:35:25.399 --> 00:35:27.500
does the bats' echolocation get affected

895
00:35:27.500 --> 00:35:29.698
by the people coming in here making noise?

896
00:35:29.698 --> 00:35:32.860
Good question, does bats' sense of echolocation

897
00:35:32.860 --> 00:35:35.857
get affected by people coming in here making noise?

898
00:35:35.857 --> 00:35:37.437
That's a very good question.

899
00:35:37.437 --> 00:35:38.270
Very good.

900
00:35:38.270 --> 00:35:40.254
People can disturb bats, it's true.

901
00:35:40.254 --> 00:35:42.420
Most of the time, in here,

902
00:35:42.420 --> 00:35:43.950
we haven't really seen too many bats

903
00:35:43.950 --> 00:35:45.050
when we've been walking around,

904
00:35:45.050 --> 00:35:48.810
but in many caves, they tend to not let people

905
00:35:48.810 --> 00:35:50.850
go into areas where bats are hibernating

906
00:35:50.850 --> 00:35:52.080
or where bats like to roost

907
00:35:52.080 --> 00:35:53.170
so that we can protect them,

908
00:35:53.170 --> 00:35:55.660
so we don't mess with their hibernation

909
00:35:55.660 --> 00:35:58.450
or mess with them trying to fly in and out of the cave

910
00:35:58.450 --> 00:36:00.833
to go eat dinner at night.

911
00:36:00.833 --> 00:36:02.270
Good question.

912
00:36:02.270 --> 00:36:03.103
Good question.

913
00:36:03.103 --> 00:36:05.330
I was in a cave and there were bats flyin'

914
00:36:05.330 --> 00:36:07.713
all over the place and they did not mind me at all,

915
00:36:07.713 --> 00:36:09.272
they didn't care.

916
00:36:09.272 --> 00:36:11.652
They were still doin' their bat business.

917
00:36:11.652 --> 00:36:13.013
(scientists laughing)

918
00:36:13.013 --> 00:36:16.160
It was fascinating, okay.

919
00:36:16.160 --> 00:36:17.350
Did any one get in your hair?

920
00:36:17.350 --> 00:36:19.664
Up close and personal, nope, they stayed outta my hair.

921
00:36:19.664 --> 00:36:21.590
Yep, that's totally a myth.

922
00:36:21.590 --> 00:36:22.423
It's a myth.

923
00:36:22.423 --> 00:36:25.103
Bats don't like to mess with us,

924
00:36:25.103 --> 00:36:26.763
they like to do their own thing.

925
00:36:27.916 --> 00:36:29.392
Thanks for that question.

926
00:36:29.392 --> 00:36:32.610
We will talk about careers.

927
00:36:32.610 --> 00:36:33.443
How about that?

928
00:36:33.443 --> 00:36:36.410
So, what in the world did you have to study

929
00:36:36.410 --> 00:36:37.473
or what were you interested in

930
00:36:37.473 --> 00:36:41.243
that really made you decide to do this kind of work?

931
00:36:41.243 --> 00:36:44.590
Well, for me, I got involved in this

932
00:36:44.590 --> 00:36:47.590
by working with the Student Conservation Association

933
00:36:47.590 --> 00:36:49.120
when I was in my undergraduate,

934
00:36:49.120 --> 00:36:53.230
which I think I have a fellow SCA member here, Amtchat,

935
00:36:53.230 --> 00:36:57.040
but I got a job through Student Conservation Association

936
00:36:57.040 --> 00:36:58.650
at Carlsbad Caverns National Park,

937
00:36:58.650 --> 00:37:00.430
which is Lima's favorite cave.

938
00:37:00.430 --> 00:37:02.460
And through that, I became interested in caves

939
00:37:02.460 --> 00:37:03.910
and interested in how they form.

940
00:37:03.910 --> 00:37:06.120
And then, through another job with the Forest Service

941
00:37:06.120 --> 00:37:08.920
up in the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska,

942
00:37:08.920 --> 00:37:12.440
I became interested in how our activities on the surface,

943
00:37:12.440 --> 00:37:14.490
our management activities impact water

944
00:37:14.490 --> 00:37:16.600
in caves in the subsurface.

945
00:37:16.600 --> 00:37:20.072
And so I studied geology and geography,

946
00:37:20.072 --> 00:37:23.030
cartography, mapping caves, hydrology,

947
00:37:23.030 --> 00:37:24.183
those sorts of things.

948
00:37:25.520 --> 00:37:27.523
Interesting, similar story, different story?

949
00:37:27.523 --> 00:37:28.356
What do you have, Barb?

950
00:37:28.356 --> 00:37:30.870
Yup, yup, pretty much, maybe different.

951
00:37:30.870 --> 00:37:33.060
I went to the University of Tennessee at Martin,

952
00:37:33.060 --> 00:37:35.590
that was for my bachelor's, and so at first,

953
00:37:35.590 --> 00:37:40.590
I took all the geology and biology and geography classes

954
00:37:40.660 --> 00:37:45.300
and that's what gave me a very broad background

955
00:37:45.300 --> 00:37:48.810
in geology and biology to be able to marry

956
00:37:48.810 --> 00:37:52.690
those two programs within paleontology.

957
00:37:52.690 --> 00:37:56.270
So I've been a paleontologist, fell in love with it

958
00:37:56.270 --> 00:37:59.810
the first quarter, 'cause geology just came easy to me

959
00:37:59.810 --> 00:38:01.900
and then, when we get into the third quarter

960
00:38:01.900 --> 00:38:05.640
of historical geology, which had the fossils in it

961
00:38:05.640 --> 00:38:06.990
and all the animals and all,

962
00:38:06.990 --> 00:38:10.810
Dinosaurs!
I was absolutely struck

963
00:38:10.810 --> 00:38:12.340
'cause I love animals, too.

964
00:38:12.340 --> 00:38:16.047
So it married the best thing, rocks and fossils (laughs).

965
00:38:18.170 --> 00:38:22.730
So I, like Barb, I studied geology for my undergraduate,

966
00:38:22.730 --> 00:38:25.148
but it wasn't until I took a class

967
00:38:25.148 --> 00:38:29.160
about geomorphology and caves that I fell in love.

968
00:38:29.160 --> 00:38:30.940
Our professor took us caving

969
00:38:30.940 --> 00:38:33.800
and I knew I wanted to learn more about those caves

970
00:38:33.800 --> 00:38:36.030
and so I started studying hydrology.

971
00:38:36.030 --> 00:38:37.880
So if you're interested in caves,

972
00:38:37.880 --> 00:38:40.968
you also need to learn what happens with the water.

973
00:38:40.968 --> 00:38:44.290
You know, if you are interested in one science,

974
00:38:44.290 --> 00:38:46.100
you might want to combine them.

975
00:38:46.100 --> 00:38:48.700
So I also did some hydrology and eventually,

976
00:38:48.700 --> 00:38:51.020
I did paleoclimate, which is something that

977
00:38:51.020 --> 00:38:52.330
you might not think about it,

978
00:38:52.330 --> 00:38:54.950
but we can get information about

979
00:38:54.950 --> 00:38:57.410
what the climate was in the past studying caves,

980
00:38:57.410 --> 00:38:58.380
and that's what I did.

981
00:38:58.380 --> 00:39:00.990
So there are many things you can study.

982
00:39:00.990 --> 00:39:03.450
You can study biology, you can study geology,

983
00:39:03.450 --> 00:39:05.490
geography, hydrology.

984
00:39:05.490 --> 00:39:06.680
So if you wanna be a scientist

985
00:39:06.680 --> 00:39:08.680
and this is something that you like,

986
00:39:08.680 --> 00:39:11.208
there are many opportunities for you.

987
00:39:11.208 --> 00:39:12.869
That's the cool thing about science,

988
00:39:12.869 --> 00:39:14.513
I mean, you can study anything.

989
00:39:16.030 --> 00:39:18.430
Find out what you're interested in and study it.

990
00:39:19.280 --> 00:39:21.476
Okay, all right, question from online.

991
00:39:21.476 --> 00:39:24.840
This one is from Old Mill Middle School

992
00:39:24.840 --> 00:39:27.588
in Millersville, Maryland.

993
00:39:27.588 --> 00:39:31.070
Can caves disappear from being worn down so much

994
00:39:31.070 --> 00:39:32.643
with water moving through it?

995
00:39:33.680 --> 00:39:36.010
That's a really great question, too,

996
00:39:36.010 --> 00:39:37.970
yeah, absolutely.

997
00:39:37.970 --> 00:39:40.160
The first thing that comes to mind for me are glacier caves,

998
00:39:40.160 --> 00:39:42.420
as they're melting at a pretty rapid rate.

999
00:39:42.420 --> 00:39:44.610
We have scientists that are studying glacier caves

1000
00:39:44.610 --> 00:39:47.620
on national forest lands, especially on the West Coast,

1001
00:39:47.620 --> 00:39:50.730
and some of those caves have, just in our lifetime,

1002
00:39:50.730 --> 00:39:54.120
even in the last like 10 years, have completely melted away

1003
00:39:54.120 --> 00:39:56.960
so that you can't see that they're there anymore.

1004
00:39:56.960 --> 00:39:59.160
But limestone caves, they might take a while

1005
00:39:59.160 --> 00:40:02.040
for us to notice, but they will eventually dissolve

1006
00:40:02.040 --> 00:40:04.249
and they will be gone, so yeah.

1007
00:40:04.249 --> 00:40:07.300
Just not in our lifetime, we might not see it,

1008
00:40:07.300 --> 00:40:08.616
we might not see this cave go away.

1009
00:40:08.616 --> 00:40:10.626
We have another 400 million years with this one?

1010
00:40:10.626 --> 00:40:11.459
(laughing)

1011
00:40:11.459 --> 00:40:13.060
Yeah, maybe, maybe 200.

1012
00:40:13.060 --> 00:40:15.310
(scientists laughing)

1013
00:40:15.310 --> 00:40:17.536
Water slowly carries it all out to see.

1014
00:40:17.536 --> 00:40:22.200
Continually thins the walls so the ceiling can collapse,

1015
00:40:22.200 --> 00:40:26.240
sometimes so, but never during the tour, never.

1016
00:40:26.240 --> 00:40:27.167
Oh yes.

1017
00:40:27.167 --> 00:40:29.440
(scientists laughing)

1018
00:40:29.440 --> 00:40:31.653
All right, let's get,

1019
00:40:33.300 --> 00:40:37.263
you have an elevator ride with one of these students.

1020
00:40:38.348 --> 00:40:41.380
You're gonna tell them what's important about caves

1021
00:40:41.380 --> 00:40:43.827
in sort of a quick, condensed version.

1022
00:40:43.827 --> 00:40:44.740
Can you help us with that?

1023
00:40:44.740 --> 00:40:45.573
I got this one.

1024
00:40:45.573 --> 00:40:46.490
Okay, sweet.

1025
00:40:46.490 --> 00:40:48.823
So we talked about water, all along,

1026
00:40:48.823 --> 00:40:50.611
we've kind of mentioned water.

1027
00:40:50.611 --> 00:40:54.410
In 40% of the U.S. and 25% around the world,

1028
00:40:54.410 --> 00:40:56.230
water comes from cool places like this

1029
00:40:56.230 --> 00:40:58.110
where there are caves called karst areas,

1030
00:40:58.110 --> 00:40:59.360
which is one of our glossary words

1031
00:40:59.360 --> 00:41:01.423
from the first CavesLIVE.

1032
00:41:01.423 --> 00:41:03.500
And so caves are super important to protect

1033
00:41:03.500 --> 00:41:05.660
because our drinking water comes out of caves

1034
00:41:05.660 --> 00:41:07.800
as well as water for recreation

1035
00:41:07.800 --> 00:41:10.200
and water for unique plants and animals

1036
00:41:10.200 --> 00:41:12.760
that depend on water beneath the surface of the earth

1037
00:41:12.760 --> 00:41:15.334
or at springs where that water from the subsurface

1038
00:41:15.334 --> 00:41:17.100
comes out at the surface.

1039
00:41:17.100 --> 00:41:20.080
So water's a big, big part of why caves,

1040
00:41:20.080 --> 00:41:22.330
cave systems, and karst areas as a whole

1041
00:41:22.330 --> 00:41:23.363
are very important.

1042
00:41:25.610 --> 00:41:27.370
I'd like to ask that question of all of you.

1043
00:41:27.370 --> 00:41:32.230
Yeah, so, they're important because they hold sediments.

1044
00:41:32.230 --> 00:41:35.110
As you can see, there's sediments in the caves,

1045
00:41:35.110 --> 00:41:37.140
speleothems are also a type of sediment.

1046
00:41:37.140 --> 00:41:40.830
So those sediments are records for us to study

1047
00:41:40.830 --> 00:41:41.980
the climate in the past.

1048
00:41:41.980 --> 00:41:43.750
So we learn about the temperature,

1049
00:41:43.750 --> 00:41:46.900
we learn about the rainfall, and we can make predictions

1050
00:41:46.900 --> 00:41:49.010
of what's going to happen in the future.

1051
00:41:49.010 --> 00:41:51.500
They are comparable to tree ring records.

1052
00:41:51.500 --> 00:41:53.520
I'm sure you guys have heard about tree rings

1053
00:41:53.520 --> 00:41:56.840
or deep-sea sediments or even glacier records.

1054
00:41:56.840 --> 00:41:59.440
So we can find the similar types of signs

1055
00:41:59.440 --> 00:42:01.510
and then correlate it with what's happening

1056
00:42:01.510 --> 00:42:02.713
outside the cave.

1057
00:42:03.870 --> 00:42:06.040
And Lima, that is very important

1058
00:42:06.040 --> 00:42:07.610
because with the sediments,

1059
00:42:07.610 --> 00:42:10.621
that's what protects the animals that died

1060
00:42:10.621 --> 00:42:15.420
and then preserved them so that we can find them later

1061
00:42:15.420 --> 00:42:16.400
and study them.

1062
00:42:16.400 --> 00:42:19.460
Usually the animals, maybe that are found in caves,

1063
00:42:19.460 --> 00:42:22.150
may not have been preserved anywhere else.

1064
00:42:22.150 --> 00:42:23.810
And so we've got this cave

1065
00:42:23.810 --> 00:42:27.010
that helps preserve and promote science

1066
00:42:27.010 --> 00:42:29.150
and gives us a lot more information

1067
00:42:29.150 --> 00:42:31.042
about what the climate was like

1068
00:42:31.042 --> 00:42:33.843
and what was influenced by the caves.

1069
00:42:35.800 --> 00:42:37.300
Thank you.

1070
00:42:37.300 --> 00:42:38.560
I appreciate that elevator speech

1071
00:42:38.560 --> 00:42:40.793
because we wanted you all to remember

1072
00:42:40.793 --> 00:42:42.332
all the things that are important about caves.

1073
00:42:42.332 --> 00:42:44.418
In case you want to refresh yourselves,

1074
00:42:44.418 --> 00:42:46.827
you can always go to www.cavesLIVE.org,

1075
00:42:49.080 --> 00:42:50.550
and while you're there, I'd love it

1076
00:42:50.550 --> 00:42:52.600
if you'd check out the evaluation,

1077
00:42:52.600 --> 00:42:54.560
'cause any time you fill out the evaluations,

1078
00:42:54.560 --> 00:42:56.270
you help us refine these programs

1079
00:42:56.270 --> 00:42:57.680
and get them a little bit better

1080
00:42:57.680 --> 00:42:58.860
for every time we do the next one.

1081
00:42:58.860 --> 00:43:00.920
It helps us learn what you learned

1082
00:43:00.920 --> 00:43:02.340
and what you need more of.

1083
00:43:02.340 --> 00:43:04.700
On that site, you'll also see tons of resources,

1084
00:43:04.700 --> 00:43:07.300
you'll have other videos which you can go back and rewatch

1085
00:43:07.300 --> 00:43:09.300
over and over and grab a tub of popcorn

1086
00:43:09.300 --> 00:43:11.070
and bring your whole family and sit, right.

1087
00:43:11.070 --> 00:43:13.440
You can binge and watch the whole CavesLIVE series,

1088
00:43:13.440 --> 00:43:14.639
it's awesome.

1089
00:43:14.639 --> 00:43:15.800
(Johanna laughs)

1090
00:43:15.800 --> 00:43:17.100
So right now, I just wanna thank--

1091
00:43:17.100 --> 00:43:19.080
Oh, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

1092
00:43:19.080 --> 00:43:21.630
Before we stop, he's been asking us

1093
00:43:21.630 --> 00:43:22.510
all these questions, right.

1094
00:43:22.510 --> 00:43:24.579
Amtchat, I have a question for you.

1095
00:43:24.579 --> 00:43:25.412
All right.

1096
00:43:25.412 --> 00:43:26.245
So I don't know if you all know this,

1097
00:43:26.245 --> 00:43:28.040
Stalactites.
No, you already

1098
00:43:28.040 --> 00:43:29.320
(scientists laughing)

1099
00:43:29.320 --> 00:43:30.670
Already answered that one.

1100
00:43:30.670 --> 00:43:32.780
So I don't know if you guys knew this,

1101
00:43:32.780 --> 00:43:35.560
but Amtchat was very nervous to go into caves

1102
00:43:35.560 --> 00:43:38.070
to start with, when we started this whole CavesLIVE journey.

1103
00:43:38.070 --> 00:43:40.591
So Amtchat, here we are,

1104
00:43:40.591 --> 00:43:43.980
second program, what's your takeaway?

1105
00:43:43.980 --> 00:43:45.560
What did you learn about caves?

1106
00:43:45.560 --> 00:43:47.400
What's your elevator speech?

1107
00:43:47.400 --> 00:43:48.550
Elevator speech, all right,

1108
00:43:48.550 --> 00:43:50.940
this is beautiful and I would have hated to have missed out

1109
00:43:50.940 --> 00:43:52.120
on all of this.

1110
00:43:52.120 --> 00:43:54.630
We live in such a beautiful, amazing world,

1111
00:43:54.630 --> 00:43:57.590
and our country is so beautiful and grand and grandiose,

1112
00:43:57.590 --> 00:43:59.320
get out and explore it, don't be afraid,

1113
00:43:59.320 --> 00:44:00.941
actually try something new.

1114
00:44:00.941 --> 00:44:04.670
There are resources all across the web

1115
00:44:04.670 --> 00:44:06.200
that can help you find one, in fact,

1116
00:44:06.200 --> 00:44:08.610
discovertheforest.org is even one.

1117
00:44:08.610 --> 00:44:10.490
You can punch in your zip code and find fun things

1118
00:44:10.490 --> 00:44:12.690
to go to and go hang out and explore.

1119
00:44:12.690 --> 00:44:16.330
And had I not taken that first step into the cave,

1120
00:44:16.330 --> 00:44:18.040
I would've missed out on all this and all the fun

1121
00:44:18.040 --> 00:44:18.940
and the learning.

1122
00:44:18.940 --> 00:44:22.810
And so I recommend it, if it's a cave, great,

1123
00:44:22.810 --> 00:44:23.643
go ahead and explore it.

1124
00:44:23.643 --> 00:44:25.360
If it's a waterfall, go explore it.

1125
00:44:25.360 --> 00:44:26.193
Take somebody with you

1126
00:44:26.193 --> 00:44:28.540
because I've made some great friends along the way

1127
00:44:28.540 --> 00:44:30.140
and had a ton of fun.

1128
00:44:30.140 --> 00:44:32.963
So elevator speech, all about people and fun.

1129
00:44:34.290 --> 00:44:37.000
Thank you, Johanna, I appreciate you asking that question.

1130
00:44:37.000 --> 00:44:38.980
Barb, Lima, thank you so much

1131
00:44:38.980 --> 00:44:41.320
for being our on-camera experts.

1132
00:44:41.320 --> 00:44:43.510
And to all of our scientists online,

1133
00:44:43.510 --> 00:44:44.780
thanks for answering those questions.

1134
00:44:44.780 --> 00:44:45.950
We didn't get to get to every,

1135
00:44:45.950 --> 00:44:48.900
I know we didn't get to get to every single one

1136
00:44:48.900 --> 00:44:50.620
because I still have a bunch in my hand,

1137
00:44:50.620 --> 00:44:53.010
but we'll keep answering them, so thank you

1138
00:44:53.010 --> 00:44:55.280
to all you students out there that are sending them.

1139
00:44:55.280 --> 00:44:58.041
Thank you to Rippon Middle School for coming.

1140
00:44:58.041 --> 00:45:02.291
(audience applauding and cheering)

1141
00:45:03.250 --> 00:45:05.700
And a very, very, very special thanks

1142
00:45:05.700 --> 00:45:07.460
to the Luray Caverns staff.

1143
00:45:07.460 --> 00:45:09.680
They have done, I mean, this amazing work,

1144
00:45:09.680 --> 00:45:11.440
helping us to get all this stuff set up

1145
00:45:11.440 --> 00:45:13.287
so we could bring this program to you.

1146
00:45:13.287 --> 00:45:16.580
And thank you to all of you at home for viewing.

1147
00:45:16.580 --> 00:45:18.370
We hope that you've enjoyed it

1148
00:45:18.370 --> 00:45:20.220
and we'll see you again online.

1149
00:45:20.220 --> 00:45:22.740
Every time you watch, just smile and we'll feel it,

1150
00:45:22.740 --> 00:45:23.660
all right?

1151
00:45:23.660 --> 00:45:24.539
(scientists laughing)

1152
00:45:24.539 --> 00:45:25.530
Thanks for viewing.

1153
00:45:25.530 --> 00:45:27.023
Goodbye everybody.
Bye!

1154
00:45:27.023 --> 00:45:30.190
(scientists laughing)

1155
00:45:31.108 --> 00:45:33.691
(upbeat music)