During our study of Bats last Halloween we completed the first of two Primary Thematic Units on Bats. The first Thematic Unit was focused on the book Stellaluna. This was a fantastic introduction for children to the world of bats as it compares bats to birds. It shares the similarities and differences and through the thematic unit we learned that bats are actually mammals not birds. When I read through our second thematic unit it included a great deal of discussion on Carlsbad Caverns and exploring the bats that lived there. When planning our road trip through New Mexico I was excited to have the opportunity to complete our Bat study by observing Carlsbad Caverns Bat flight program. It is such an amazing feeling to be able to take what you read in a book and have it come to life right in front of your eyes.
It turned out that Carlsbad Carverns had so much more to offer than just a bat study. Prior to our visit I downloaded and printed the Carlsbad Caverns Junior Ranger Book for ages 7-12 so that we could lay a strong foundation for our visit. To become a Junior Ranger at this park you must complete 7 out of the 14 activities listed on the first page. Since we have been studying bats prior to our visit I was able to incorporate pages 2, 5, 9, 10 and 11 into our daily work. This told us the story of the Carlsbad Caverns, gave us a list of vocabulary words to prepare us for our visit, taught us about the habitat surrounding the caverns and what rules to follow during our visit. Once we arrived we proceeded straight to the counter located to the right of the entrance to pay $5.00 a person to enjoy the children's audio tour that is offered.
Prior to descending down the trail we stopped at the gift shop located in the visitors center and picked up an explorer helmet for Jaxon. This ended up being the perfect purchase. As we climbed deeper and deeper into the cave it grew darker and darker. At times there was very little light to guide our way. This helped settle Jaxon's nerves about being on an adventure in a dark cave. It did not settle our nerves as everytime he would turn to speak to us he would absolutely blind us with a stream of bright light.
I cannot express enough how amazing the childrens audio tour is. The story is told by a young bat who lives in Carlsbad Caverns. He takes you on a journey of exploration as you descend the 750 feet into the earth to learn about the Caverns he calls home. He entertains your every moment as he leads you through the twists and turns of the 1.5 mile Natural Entrance Trail.
To keep Jaxon busy during the entire walk we carried the Cave Scavenger Hunt. It helped him locate and learn about all the different cave formations he saw on his adventure.
Once we reached the bottom we came to a cross in the road if we turned right we embarked on a whole new journey through the Big Room which is also included on our audio tour but not required to complete the Junior Ranger Program. If we turned left we ended up in an area that provided restrooms, elevators escorting visitors back to the Visitors Center and a small cafe with table, chairs and souvenirs for purchase. Since we were on such limited time we ended our audio tour here and proceeded to the cafe area. Due to the extreme drop in temperature and an ill prepared mother Jaxon was cold so we purchased him a sweater and used the restroom then making ourselves comfortable at a table to work on our Junior Ranger book before making the journey back up to the surface.
I would make sure to leave a good amount of time to return by elevator, as the line was quite lengthy and took a good thirty minutes to reach the elevators.
Once we returned to the visitors center we joined Ranger Leah as she presented an amazing slide show called Batty for Bats! Learning all the basics of the bats of Carlsbad Caverns with her extreme enthusiasm made for an entertaining program. Ranger Leah has a long history of working with young children and it truly showed as she entertained and dazzled Jaxon with her stories of bats full of facts.
Since Ranger Leah worked so well with children we took this opportunity to complete page six of our Junior Ranger book "Ask a Ranger".
After leaving Leah we took a short half mile walk through the Nature Trail exploring all the different plants of the Chihuahaun Desert as we completed page 7 of our junior ranger program. This was our first visit to the Chihuahan Desert and the start of our exciting desert habitat study.
The half mile trail quickly became exciting as we began discovering centipedes and millipedes along the way.
Once we completed the short loop we headed back inside to join Ranger Nikki for her program Discover the Night Sky. This ranger program was directed to an older audience than Jaxon could comprehend but I as a parent found it very informative as her entire talk revolved around a book she had read as a child. Find the Constellations is a great book that I am truly excited to incorporate into our curriculum. The book is a wonderful beginning guide into the grand world of constellations. It takes the child on a journey to discover the constellations in the nights sky. Once you hunt the night sky looking for the constellation you are able to turn the page then revealing the location of the constellation. I find it to be a fun interactive book that entertains while you learn something new. I strongly feel that exposing our children to concepts and words during their childhood help them to recognize the same concepts later during their education. So maybe Jaxon did no fully understand anything during this Ranger Program but surely the next time he is learning about constellations he will at least remember the general notion.
Following the program we had the great pleasure of having Ranger Nikki present us with our badge prior to running off to the next Ranger Program.
The next ranger program was directed at a much younger age group. As we wandered into the room we met Ranger Lindsay a seasoned Ranger of many National Park Deserts. She would be leading us today through "Who Lives in the Desert?". We eagerly listened to Ranger Lindsay read us stories of the Chihauhuan Desert and the many creatures that reside there.
Finally the grand finale. The whole reason we had made the journey south to Carlsbad Caverns was finally here. We all hurried to the amphitheater to find the best seats for our last program of the day The Bat Flight Program. We took a seat and listened carefully to the rules. Unfortunately the number one rule is no photographs. So I cannot share with you a visual of how I felt as the bats took flight over our heads making their nightly journey out into the sunset to find food. Watching a sunset alone is a moment that is breathtaking but adding hundreds of thousands of bats flying into the sunset as they take flutter past you into the nights sky is a majestic sight. If everyone remains silent you can hear them and if your lucky they will soar directly above you. This is an amazing site I would definitely recommend as I hope to return again one day to feel this breathtaking moment once more.
