News

City of Aurora After-School Program, Peoria Elementary, Aurora, CO

We were so glad to be able to do this program on just a few days notice!  Working with the staff of this after-school program is always a pleasure, and this 2nd-5th grade students were great to work with.  They explored the trailer, enjoyed the squeezebox and Sked, played several bat games, and got to see carbide lamp demonstrations.

Silly faces at the end of a great program in Aurora (photo by Sam Welvaert)

Fun with the squeezebox (photo by Sam Welvaert)

Avery Parson Elementary School, Buena Vista, CO

Having fun with horizontal caving in the trailer (left) and vertical caving on our tower (right). Our vertical caving program teaches mechanical systems concepts, including simple machines and mechanical advantage. Photos by Avery Parsons staff.

We did an amazing program for about 65 5th grade students on their last day of school before spring break.  What made it amazing?  Well, for starters there was Andrew.  He has spina bifida and is normally in a wheelchair.  Dave showed Andrew some accommodations that CaveSim offers for people who don’t have the use of their legs, but Andrew has so much tenacity that he explored the entire cave system with another student and without using any of the accommodations that Dave offered.  Andrew’s teachers were amazed, and gave his mom a glowing report about his accomplishments.

Students hard at work on our Karst Topography lab. Photo by Avery Parsons staff.

The program was also amazing because it gave us the opportunity to show how flexible our programs can be.  We had some severe weather, including high winds, rain, and even sleet.  Despite the challenges, we continued with the program, and students got to do one of our cool karst topography labs while we waited for the conditions to improve.  To keep the students safe, we also lowered the vertical caving tower during the high winds, and we taught cool knots instead.  The students got to learn the Lark’s Head and Alpine Butterfly knots.

Students learn about helictites, a type of cave formation, while waiting to explore CaveSim. Photo by Avery Parsons staff.

We had great help from volunteer Carole Perrin, who’s daughter Barb Bentzin and son-in-law Bob Montgomery are fantastic supporters of our programs.

Students role-play bats to learn about echolocation. Photo by Avery Parsons staff.

“I’ve heard so many people comment today on your professionalism!” Becki Cummins, 5th grade teacher.

“I’m really impressed by the filler content that you have [for keeping the kids learning when the plan has to change]”.  Bonnie Grover, 5th grade teacher

Teacher Becki Cummins gets ready to by carried by her students in the cave rescue stretcher, an activity which teaches teamwork and communication. Photo by Avery Parsons staff.

Longfellow Elementary School, Salida, CO

Four classes of 4th grade students had a great time experiencing our program on the last day before their spring break.  We had great help from five students in 7th and 8th grade at the Crest Academy.  A huge thank-you to principal Jill Davis from Crest for organizing this program, and to Lewis Dove for his hospitality in Salida.

Academy International Elementary School, Colorado Springs, CO

Thanks to Julie Haverluk for working with us on this program!  We worked with about 600 students in one day at this amazing school, and we even had time for the students to do our sinkhole lab.  We had great help from Paul Schwotzer, Christine Kirkland, and Teresa and Hanna Johnson for helping out with the program.

Ryan Elementary School, Lafayette, CO

This was an amazing 3-day program for over 600 students, preschool through 5th grade.  We even had another school (Sanchez Elementary) bring their students over to Ryan Elementary so that they could benefit from the program without having to pay for transportation of the cave system.  A huge thanks to PE teacher Beth Buchanan for bringing us in, and to Patricia Malone and all the parent volunteers for working with the students.

Students eagerly listen as Dave explains how CaveSim works.

Students eagerly peer at a bat skeleton encased in glass.

Pre-school children try the cave rescue stretcher. 

Dave demonstrates a working carbide lamp. Photos above are by Beth Buchanan and other Ryan Elementary staff.

Arrowwood Elementary, Littleton, CO

The amazing photos above are by Sam Glass, 6th grade student in Mr. Roger’s class at Arrowwood Elementary School.

    The fantastic photos above are by Nick Bennett, 6th grader in Mr. Roger’s class at Arrowwood Elementary School.

During this 2-day program, 235 students in preschool through 4th grade experienced CaveSim and three of our other educational stations, including our 12′ ropes tower.  A big thanks to Sam Hinkle and Jackson Fulcher for helping with this great program.  We could write lots more words, but we’ll let someone else do the talking from here:

STEAM teacher Dana Palmer wrote to us after the program, “I wanted to thank you for our CaveSim experience- it exceeded our expectations- We found your program was the perfect combination of innovation, responsibility, preservation and education.  In addition to being hands-on there was a great deal of knowledge passed on to our students in a very tangible and relatable way.  You and your crew are extremely knowledgeable and the delivery was on par with seasoned educators.  We were truly impressed with how smoothly everything went- every detail planned perfectly, simply amazing.”

Some other great feedback written by parents, teachers, and students:

“I am so glad I volunteered at this event.  It was great to see kids so engaged and active.  This is what learning is all about” –parent volunteer

“I can not wait to get older and follow my passion and invent cool things like Mr. Dave” –3rd grader

“We had to extend writing time by 30 minutes because the students were so excited and inspired by CaveSim they wanted to just keep writing in their journals” –2nd grade teacher

“My students are not easily challenged and they came to me after CaveSim eager to investigate caves and pulleys” –Gifted and Talented coordinator

“My students rarely write more than a sentence in their journals, but today they wrote entire paragraphs on what it means to be an inventor like Dave with the Cave” –Resource teacher who works with struggling students

Despite snow flurries, the students and their PE teacher were eager to explore CaveSim.

CaveSim isn’t just for kids! This classroom teacher had a great time exploring.

Palmer Lake Elementary 5th grade

Teacher Becky Balkenbush told Tracy that, “I’ve never seen our students so engaged before!”  46 students participated, and got to experience a brand new part of our program: our mechanical systems lab.  Students got hands-on experience with pulleys and mechanical advantage on our 12′ rappelling tower.  They also loved learning to solder while doing our waterproof flashlight lab.  A big thank-you to Tracy Jackson, Jackson Fulcher, Cole Claton, and Floyd Fernandez for helping to run this great program.

Students learn to solder with a helping hand from Dave.

Students plan and build their waterproof caving flashlights, which they then tested in the big bucket of water in the background. Photos by Tracy Jackson. Photo waivers on file.

The Colorado Springs School 1st grade formation lab, 2:00-3:15PM

Thanks to Tracy Jackson for helping with this fun program!