Requirements:

Brownies/Daisies: Complete 4

1.) Visit a commercial cave with your troop or view a video of a famous cave.

2.) Learn how bats "see" at night. Play "Bat and Moth." Have girls stand in a circle holding hands. Choose four girls to be moths and one girl to be the bat. Blindfold the bat. The object is for the bat to catch a moth by simulating "echolocation". To do this, every time the bat says "Moth", each moth will have to respond by saying "moth" as if the words said by the bat are bouncing or echoing off of the moths. Switch players often to allow everyone the chance to be bats and moths.

3.) Make a clay model of a cave. Use a box as the cave and add cave formations with clay. The following is a good clay recipe to use because the salt adds a slight sparkle. Add paper cutouts of bats, salamanders, and any other cave life about which you may have learned. Clay recipe: Mix 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of salt together. Then add as little water as possible until the mixture becomes like a dough.

4.) Make a "pretend" cave out of several large boxes and practice duck-walking, crawling, bellycrawling, and bear-walking.

5.) Learn about how your flashlight works. Practice taking your flashlight apart, changing the batteries and changing the lightbulb.

6.) With your troop, go in a room with no windows and turn off the lights. Sit completely quiet for one minute to feel what it is like in a cave with no lights. After turning the lights back on, talk about your feelings about the dark with your troop.

7.) Try on some caving equipment. Know why cavers dress the way they do OR invite a caver to come to your troop meeting and show you her equipment.

1. Plotting the places You can find caves on every continent, in almost every country and in practically every state of this country. Search for answers to the following questions. Use a map of the US and of Wisconsin to plot your findings.

• Where are caves located in the United States?

• Where are caves located in Wisconsin?

• Where did glaciers cover the surface of Wisconsin?

• What is the name of the area of Wisconsin not covered by glaciers?

• What is a cave?

• What are the names of the different types of caves?

• Does the name of the cave help you to understand how the cave was formed?

• Stream carved sections develop when water begins to flow rapidly through the rock (mechanical erosion) • Cave of the Mounds was formed from both chemical and mechanical erosion

Make Your Own Speleothems!

Materials (per student, pair or group): 2 glass jars 2 nails 2 15in. pieces of heavy string Epsom salts or sucrose solution water food coloring sheets of cardboard or tag board (1 sq. ft. each)

Procedure: Make a saturated solution of Epsom salts and water. Add a drop of food coloring to this solution. Fill both of your jars with the solution. Now, securely tie the two pieces of string together. Tie a nail to each end of the string. Put one nail into one of your glass jars and the other nail into the other jar. Carefully place your set-up so that the glass jars are separated enough to make the strings taut. Make sure the nails are completely submerged in the solution. Place your cardboard sheet under your string. Evenly place it between your two jars so that any solution that drips off the string will land onto the cardboard. Record your observations daily.

9. Findings from the field In Columbus’ day, people believed that the earth was flat, not round. When Columbus set sail, many people predicted that his ship would fall off the edge of the earth. Columbus and other explorers and scientists eventually proved that the earth was round. Likewise, cave scientists seek to help people understand that the world is three dimensional. The surface of the earth is only a small part of planet earth’s environment. Understanding underground features like caves is an important part of understanding our world.

• Approximately 20% of the United States is considered a karst landscape. Karst areas are characterized by sinkholes, caves, springs and surface streams which disappear underground. Karst develops on or in water-soluble rock such as limestone.

• Tour a karst landscape. What surface features do you see? Compare an active sinkhole to an inactive sinkhole. How are they different?

Speleology

C/S/A:

b. Learn about at least five types of light sources and how many of them you must carry with you. Know which light sources are permissible to use per GSUSA. Explain why a helmet-mounted light is the best source to use as your primary source. Demonstrate that you know how to use and maintain your light sources. Know how to properly dispose of your spent light source equipment.

c. Learn about what other items you must pack into the cave with you, how you will carry them and how you will manage them in the cave.

2. *Cave Formations and Cave Conservation Find out what types of caves are in your area and how they were formed. Know what a “Speleothem” is and be able to recognize at least five examples such as stalagmites, stalactites, soda straws, gypsum flowers, rimstone dams, flowstone, helectite, etc. Choose one formation and explain how it formed and from what materials it was formed. Practice good cave conservation manners such as not defacing walls in any way and not touching cave formations. Be able to explain why these are good practices.

3. *Cave Safety (Complete all four parts)

a. Discuss the reasoning behind these cave safety rules: • Never cave along • Tell someone where you are going and when you think you’ll be back. • Always carry three forms of light. • Conserve energy at all times.

a. Know how to correctly and safely move through a cave. Explain the “three points of contact” rule. Demonstrate that you can comfortable move in the following ways: walking, bear-walking, crawling, bellycrawling, squeezing, duck-walking, crouching, chimneying, traversing and scrambling. Show that you can balance yourself in both wet and dry environments.

b. Apply the skills that you have learned by participating in a wild cave trip of at least one hour or 12 mile duration with an established, experienced caving group. Make sure that you obtain the proper permissions (parents and landowners) before you leave.

8. Visit a commercial cave and take one of its guided tours. Listen to your guide to learn about the significance of this cave. Find out why this cave became commercial and why it is better for the cave for it to remain commercial. Make mental notes on how this type of cave tour differs from a wild cave tour. What types of people can go on this kind of tour that might not be able to go on a wild cave tour? Find out if there are any tours available for the physically disadvantaged.

14. Find out what karst is and where there are karst regions in Kentucky. Find out about how different above ground activities directly affect both caves and our water systems.

16. Specialized forms of caving provide a variation on the caving experience. Vertical caving, cave diving and some ice caving require specialized training and unique abilities. Learn about another type of caving and what kids of equipment are required. If you choose vertical caving, you may be able to take a training course and try a beginners cave under BOTH an experienced vertical caver and a Girl Scout adult who fully knows Safety Activity Check Points for caving and rappelling/rock climbing. (Do not attempt any specialized caving; even with experienced cavers without the approval of the Girl Scout Council.)