caves Archives - Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

We’re making an easy cave diorama shoebox exploring stalactites & stalagmites and to demonstrate how they’re made. Also, look at my pages Free Homeschool Geology Unit Study And Easy DIY Eggshell Geode and Free Earth Science Lapbook & Unit Study Ideas.

Who says science can’t be creative, hands-on, and a little messy? Today, we’re exploring the fascinating world of caves and the incredible formations found inside them.

How to Make an Easy Cave Diorama Shoebox

We’re turning an upcycled soda box into our very own cave full of these amazing formations.

We’ll paint the inside, create stalactites and stalagmites using hot glue drips, and transform recycled materials into a 3D science model.

It’s a fun way to combine earth science, creativity, fine motor skills, and recycling into one memorable learning experience.

First, look at this list of books.

CAVE BOOKS FOR KIDS

We prefer living books and like reference books too especially when doing a science unit study.

Add one or two of these living books about caves to your home library.

5 Living Books About Caves for Kids

Explore the fascinating world of caves and the incredible formations found inside them.

The First Book of Caves

A book about caves with drawings for young readers with a vocabulary list and definition at the end.

Journey to the Bottomless Pit: The Story of Stephen Bishop and Mammoth Cave

Tells the story of the seventeen-year-old slave whose interest in the Mammoth Cave in Kentucky led him to become the tour guide for many to this natural wonder, helping him escape the grueling work of his fellow slaves on the plantations above.

Caves and their mysteries

Excellent illustrations and beautiful page turner.

The Secret of the Caves: The Hardy Boys ~ Book 7

Strange lights flickering along the coastline. Priceless artifacts vanishing without a trace. Whispers of pirate treasure hidden for centuries.Frank and Joe Hardy thought they were investigating simple museum thefts—until their search led them into a labyrinth of seaside caves where smugglers operate under cover of darkness. What begins as an intriguing puzzle quickly becomes an exciting adventure in the challenging underground passages.

Caves: The Underground Wilderness

Stepping into a cave is like entering an unfamiliar world. These majestic underground spaces are full of breathtaking sights, from columns of glowing ice and fantastic rock formations to vast networks of underwater caverns. In this book you'll learn about different types of caves and the strange and beautiful creatures that live inside them as well as how to safely and responsibly explore the subterranean world.

Let’s learn more about caves and the stalactites and stalagmites that form in them.

WHAT IS A CAVE

A cave is a natural opening in the ground that is large enough for a person to enter.
Many caves form when slightly acidic water slowly dissolves limestone, creating openings, cracks, and underground passages.
Limestone caves are among the most common places to find stalactites and stalagmites. Limestone contains a mineral called calcite, which is made of calcium carbonate.
Caves can form over thousands or millions of years.
Caves provide habitats for bats, cave crickets, salamanders, spiders, and other animals. Some cave animals have special adaptations for living in darkness.

WHAT ARE STALACTITES

Stalactites are mineral formations that hang down from the ceilings of caves. They form when water containing dissolved minerals, especially calcium carbonate, drips from the cave ceiling.

As the water loses carbon dioxide and evaporates, it leaves behind tiny deposits of minerals.

Over thousands of years, these deposits can grow into long, icicle-like formations!

WHAT ARE STALAGMITES

Stalagmites grow upward from the floors of caves. When mineral-rich water drips from stalactites or cave ceilings onto the ground, it leaves behind mineral deposits.

Over time, these deposits slowly build upward into cone-shaped or mound-like formations.

Remember StalacTite’s, T means they form on the top, while stalagMites grow from the bottom up.

HOW ARE THEY FORMED

Rainwater absorbs carbon dioxide as it moves through soil, forming a weak acid. This slightly acidic water dissolves minerals from limestone as it travels through cracks in the rock.

When the water enters a cave, it releases carbon dioxide and deposits calcium carbonate.

These tiny mineral deposits gradually build up, forming stalactites on the ceiling and stalagmites on the floor.

Most natural formations grow incredibly slowly, often taking hundreds or thousands of years to become noticeable.

Stalactites- Formations that hang from cave ceilings as mineral deposits accumulate from dripping water.
Stalagmites- Formations that grow upward from cave floors as mineral-rich water drips onto the ground.
Cave Columns- When a stalactite and a stalagmite eventually join, they can form a column connecting the ceiling and floor.

5 STALACTITE AND STALAGMITE FACTS

Stalactites and stalagmites are both types of speleothems, which are mineral formations found in caves.
They often form in limestone caves, but cave formations can develop from other minerals, too.
Some cave formations are thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years old.
Not every cave has stalactites and stalagmites; the right rock, water chemistry, and environmental conditions are needed.
Real formations grow through mineral deposition. Your hot glue formations are a model of the shapes, not the actual mineral-forming process.

MORE EASY CAVE DIORAMA SHOEBOX IDEAS

HOW TO MAKE A SHOEBOX CAVE PROJECT

While a shoebox is the perfect size and shape for this kind of project, you don’t have to use one; you can use any box you have on hand, be it an Amazon box or part of a soda box, as we used here.

You will need:

A cardboard box
Black Craft paint
A hot glue gun
glue sticks
Additional paint if desired

Start by cutting the box down to size.

Paint the entire inside of the box black.

You can also add various shades of tan and gray to make it look like different rocks and formations inside the cave; set aside to dry.

Paint or cover the outside with black paper.

Once the inside has dried, you can begin to create your stalactites and stalagmites with hot glue.

This can be a little tricky.

Start at the back of the cave and make a few blobs of hot glue, let it cool until it just starts to scab over, then flip the box and let your hot glue drip.

You can let it create different lengths and widths, including columns where they connect from top to bottom.

Flip the box and repeat in the other direction. If you see they are moving too fast, just allow your blobs to dry a little bit more before you flip it.

Continue to add more paint and repeat the process, letting it cool a bit, then flipping to create drips.

Where did Swiss Family Robinson land and what kind of unique homes they made? Too, you’ll love more ideas on my post Free Swiss Family Robinson Unit Study.

We are learning about it and exploring caves through books, videos, and hands-on activities.

I have a cool cave activity to incorporate learning about stalactites and stalagmites that form in caves.

Where Did Swiss Family Robinson Land And Their Unique Homes | Cave Activity

This will help your kids understand exactly how and why this happens.

These formations are very fragile and very slow growing, taking thousands of years to form.

If you or your child have a hard time remembering which is which, a little saying that helps is that stalactites hang “tight” from the ceiling while stalagmites grow “mighty” from the cave floor.

Take some time to learn about life along the shore, in the trees, and in caves as you read or after you are done reading The Swiss Family Robinson.

First, look at these hands-on activities to go along with The Swiss Family Robinson.

More The Swiss Family Robinson Activities

Next, add some of these books.

8 Books & Resources for Learning About The Swiss Family Robinson

Add some of these books to your unit study of The Swiss Family Robinson and their adventures on a deserted island.

Swiss Family Robinson (Illustrated Classic): 200th Anniversary Collection

More than 100 original illustrations by Louis Rhead. You want to read this book with illustrations.

Nature Anatomy: The Curious Parts and Pieces of the Natural World

See the world in a whole new way! Acclaimed illustrator Julia Rothman combines art and science in this exciting and educational guide to the structure, function, and personality of the natural world.
Explore the anatomy of a jellyfish, the inside of a volcano, monarch butterfly migration, how sunsets work, and much more. Rothman’s whimsical illustrations are paired with interactive activities that encourage curiosity and inspire you to look more closely at the world all around you.

Tracks, Scats and Signs (Take Along Guides)

Become a nature detective with this illustrative, engaging and fun Take-Along-Guide. You may not know where to look, or what to look for, but animal signs are everywhere and this guide will help you learn how to read them. You'll learn how to spot and identify common clues that 17 wildlife species leave behind in the woods, in the fields and along ponds.

Swiss Family Robinson Movie

The heroic tale of the courageous exploits of the Robinson family after they are shipwrecked on a deserted island. Using teamwork and ingenuity, they overcome the obstacles of nature and transform their new home into a "civilized" community.

Willy Whitefeather's Outdoor Survival Handbook for Kids

From treating a bee sting to building an overnight shelter, kids will gain the knowledge and confidence they need to survive outdoors.

Bear Grylls The Complete Adventures Collection 12 Books Set

Bear Grylls The Complete Adventures Collection 12 Books Set: Titles In This Set: The Blizzard Challenge The Desert Challenge The Jungle Challenge The Sea Challenge The River Challenge The Earthquake Challenge The Volcano Challenge The Safari Challenge The Cave Challenge The Mountain Challenge The Arctic Challenge The Sailing Challenge

Knot Tying Kit | Pro-Knot Best Rope Knot Cards, two practice cords and a carabiner

By Pro-Knot, the number one trusted name in Knots with over 7,000 5 Star reviews! This complete knot tying KIT includes everything you need to learn and practice how to tie 23 essential rope knots. The six card/twelve page waterproof plastic card set contains 23 best all purpose rope knots
clearly illustrated and described, bound together with a no-rust brass grommet in the corner!

Foraging Wild Edible Plants of North America: More than 150 Delicious Recipes Using Nature's Edibles

Edible wild plants are nature’s natural food source, growing along roadsides, sprouting in backyards, and blooming in country fields. North America’s diverse geography overflows with edible plant species.

Moreover, look at some of these facts about caves.

The Science of Cave Stalactites and Stalagmites

Stalactites are icicle-shaped deposits that develop when water dripping from the ceiling of the cave dissolves limestone and then re-deposits calcium carbonate along the ceilings of caves.

Stalactites form along ceilings and hang downward while stalagmites are formed from the water and build up that dripped down to the floor and built up over time.

In a salt cave, like the one that the Swiss family discovered, the stalactites and stalagmites are made of salt and are very rare.

These caves usually exist in highly arid regions like the area around the Dead Sea.

The world’s longest stalactite is found in the White Chamber of the Jeita Grotto in Lebanon and measures at a length of 27 feet.

The longest stalagmite is in the cave of Cueva Martin Inferno, Cuba with a measurement of 204 feet.

Caves and their geological features are fascinating and still hold many mysteries for scientists.

If you have one in your area, consider making a trip to explore it to see the wonders firsthand.

Where Did Swiss Family Robinson Land

Looking for a great resource to study different biomes of the island where they landed as well as the flora and fauna? You can’t go wrong with Nature Anatomy.

The very first camp that the family made after landing on the rocky shore was named Tentholm.

It had cliffs, grass, trees, fresh and saltwater resources, and of course plentiful food sources.

The family treehouse was dubbed Falconurst and built using the father’s know-how, everyone’s hard work, and geometry.

It was built in a big tree 30 feet off the ground with a sailcloth roof and gave them a safe and secure structure keeping them off the ground and away from most predators.

During the wet season, the family moved to a salt cave that they named Rockburg.

This is where we focused because it makes a wonderful launching pad for a science lesson on caves.

In particular we learned about salt caverns which is what the family had stumbled upon.

Before you begin your activity here are a couple of great videos on YouTube to explain the formation of stalactites and stalagmites better What are Stalactites And Stalagmites and Types of Caves For Kids: How Caves are Formed.

Cave Activity – Growing Stalactite

You will remember from the story that when the family found the cave, they discovered spikes growing from the ceiling and many that had fallen to the floor due to the rockets.

You will need:

Hot water
4-6 glass containers
Epsom salts
Food coloring
Cotton string
Paperclips
Tray to catch the mess

First, heat enough water for all your containers. It doesn’t have to be boiling but you want it hot.

Stir in Epsom salts and continue stirring it in until the water will not hold/dissolve anymore.

You want to see some still sitting at the bottom of the container, this means it has become supersaturated.

Once your solution is ready, set your cups about 6 inches apart on your tray and pour the solution in just below the rim.

Just to show some contrast we decided to add a little bit of blue food coloring to one of our sets of cups.

Tie a paperclip to each end of the cotton string, making it just long enough to sit in the bottom of each jar, and dip down just a bit in between them.

Now the next part is the hardest, it’s the waiting for something to happen.

The cotton string will draw water down until it begins to drip. You can see that action happening with the blue water as it is absorbed.

As the water drips and begins to evaporate the Epsom salts left behind begin to build up, dripping downward and creating puddles that will eventually build up tall from the ground.

By the next morning, you will have crystals forming along the edge of the jar as well.

After 2-3 days your stalactite touches the ground and grows larger.

caves