Teach your children well
Quick story: Tracy and I went caving last weekend with some first-time cavers and we saw these incredibly beautiful cave formations. Then we saw some super-delicate formations that someone had vandalized by pressing mud spheres into the formations in at least 30 places. Because of the ignorance of some unknown person on some previous trip, at least hundreds of years of natural growth had been wiped out in minutes, with the formations never to be the same again. I found this extremely sad and shocking, and I told our group that this is why I haul around a 1600 pound cave simulator to teach kids about caves. Because people can only protect what they understand.
Left: Gypsum crystals destroyed by a mud ball squished into them by an ignorant person. Right: A pristine helictite that may have taken thousands of years to form.
I thought that I would share this story for two reasons: if you're already supporting our project to teach people to protect caves, thank you! You are helping us to educate thousands of people about why they should protect caves. If you haven't supported CaveSim yet, we could really use your help to put cave education on the road. Even if you only want to give $1, you'll help us a lot by increasing the number of people who've pledged. My standard joke is that everyone has at least $1 in coins between the seats of their car. Of course, if you can't find a dollar between your seats, you can always tell a friend to support our project. Post us on your Facebook page, or email your friends.
Here's a fun video for you to watch to cheer you up from this sad story. 150 4th and 5th graders got to hear Dave's stories about digging holes and exploring caves. As you'll see in the video, some of the students recognized CaveSim from their field trips to our garage. We hope to be able to bring CaveSim to their schools in the future so that more than a dozen students can learn about caves at a time. Thanks for your help in making this possible.
83
Backers
$5,652
pledged of $1,900 goal
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Funding period
Apr 3, 2012 -
Jun 2, 2012
(60 days)
- First created · 2 backed
- Dave Jackson 76 friends
- Website: CaveSim.com
Pledge $1 or more
4 backers
You rock! Get a thank-you shout-out on CaveSim.com, and on our Twitter and Facebook pages.
Estimated delivery: Jun 2012Pledge $10 or more
13 backers
Get an awesome CaveSim sticker with our handwritten thanks on the back, plus the first reward. Every car, waterbottle, and caving helmet needs one of these. Made of high-quality plastic.
Estimated delivery: Jul 2012Pledge $20 or more
5 backers
What caver wouldn't want a custom CaveSim bat stamp? Get a high-quality rubber stamp designed by us and made in the USA, plus a handwritten thank you note, plus the first reward.
Estimated delivery: Aug 2012Pledge $35 or more
13 backers
You provide the body, we provide the t-shirt. Get a CaveSim t-shirt made in the USA in your size, plus the first reward.
Estimated delivery: Aug 2012Pledge $50 or more
7 backers
Your only chance to write on the walls of a cave without fear of reprisals (plus, you get a CaveSim t-shirt). You have lots of options: (1) Sign the outside of CaveSim at the 2012 NSS Convention in Lewisburg, WV, or (2) Sign a photo of yourself and use our self-addressed stamped envelope to send it to us so that we can permanently afix it to CaveSim, or (3) Hand us your signed photo at the NSS Convention. PG-13 photos/signatures only, please.
Estimated delivery: Jun 2012Pledge $75 or more
11 backers
Get your own cave formation! At CaveSim, we're experts in making artificial cave formations, and we'll send you one in a color of your choosing (crystal clear, pure white, or cave-tan). Includes a lanyard for hanging as an ornament. Every caver's rearview mirror needs one of these. Or, you can be upscale and hang cave formations on your Christmas tree. Remember, no real speleothems were even touched in the making of our formations.
Estimated delivery: Sep 2012Pledge $150 or more
2 backers
Grotto reward #1: We'll send your grotto (aka caving club) a handmade, laser-engraved plaque for everyone in your grotto to sign. You can send the plaque back to us and we'll permanently afix it to the outside of CaveSim (or you can keep the plaque all to yourselves).
Estimated delivery: Jun 2012Pledge $200 or more
0 backers
Great for individuals or grottos: Turn ordinary tables into caves with our magnetic cave formations. Place our super-strong magnets on top of your table, hang the formations underneath the table using the magic of magnetism, throw a sheet over the table, and you have a cave. Set of four formations, plus a fact sheet with awesome info about caves and bats. Great for teaching kids.
Estimated delivery: Sep 2012Pledge $300 or more
0 backers Limited (10 of 10 left)
Great for Colorado individuals, grottos, and families: Bring 30 of your closest friends (only $10 per person!) to the CaveSim garage in Manitou Springs, CO for 2-3 hours of caving, fun and games. A great substitute for a regular grotto meeting. Best kids birthday party ever! Includes trips through CaveSim for everyone in your group, plus cave-related games and educational activities led by our award-winning outdoor educator. We provide all the cave gear -- all you have to do is gather your friends. Good through Dec. 2013.
Estimated delivery: Jun 2012Pledge $400 or more
0 backers
Great for grottos: 40 CaveSim plastic stickers (one for everyone in your grotto), plus a set of five magnetic cave formations (great for grotto outreach events, or for your grotto auction). Plus, we'll send your grotto a handmade, laser-engraved plaque for everyone in your grotto to sign. You can send the plaque back to us and we'll permanently afix it to the outside of CaveSim (or you can keep the plaque all to yourselves).
Estimated delivery: Jun 2012Pledge $500 or more
0 backers
The people who give us a dollar rock, but you really rock! Let us know when you're in town, and Tracy and Dave will have you over for dinner and a personal tour of CaveSim. When else can you talk with an outgoing engineer from MIT who built a cave in his garage? And yes, of course you can have a t-shirt.
Estimated delivery: Jun 2012Pledge $9,950 or more
0 backers Limited (3 of 3 left)
The ultimate! Everything you need to build your very own crawl-through electronic cave obstacle course (except the walls). Includes 20 electronic sensors, 20 cave formations with bomber mounting hardware, a sensor control box with LCD to interface between the sensors and your computer, easy-to-use software with an intuitive graphical interface, all the cables, and (of course) detailed instructions and friendly tech support by Dave Jackson himself. Many additional sensors/formations can be added to the system.
Estimated delivery: Dec 2012
Comments
Creator Gill Gilliland on May 13, 2012
Awesome presentation Dave! Way to change lives!