May 5, 2012
Over 150 kids and adults attended the Catamount Institute Symposium today at Colorado College and learned about both caving and invention from Dave Jackson of CaveSim (“Dave from a Cave!”) The Symposium is like a science fair where 4th and 5th grade students present their projects about caves, bats, water and underground ecology. Instead of just answering a scientific question, the students take community action to solve a cave-related problem. Dave’s talk emphasized the importance of using creativity to solve real-world problems, like Dave did with CaveSim. Of course, the talk was also fun — who doesn’t want to hear stories about digging giant holes?
Watch a high-energy talk by “nationally known caver and inventor… David Jackson”: http://youtu.be/7_dQbg67KWk
One 5th grade student exclaimed, “This has been one of the best days of my life!” The Catamount staff also had high praise: Darlene Jensen, Executive Director, commented that, “[Dave] Coming in full gear with such a wealth of information was incredible to all the students, young and old.”
Dave, in full caving gear, listens as a student describes their crawl-through cave, made of moving boxes & other recyclables. Photo: Chris Aaby, Catamount Institute