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Ancient Caves

“Ancient Caves” brings science and adventure together as it follows paleoclimatologist Dr. Gina Moseley on a mission to unlock the secrets of Earth's climate in the most unlikely of places: caves. Moseley and her team of cave explorers travel the world exploring vast underground worlds in search of stalagmite samples—geologic “fingerprints”—that reveal clues about the planet's climate history. Their quest leads them to some of the world's most remote caves, both above and below the water, in France, Iceland, the Bahamas, the U.S., and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, where they study how rapidly Earth's climate can change, and how it has affected human civilization. Together, they venture where very few humans will ever go, revealing the incredible lengths scientists will go to study the unknown.

A MacGillivray Freeman Films presentation of an Oceanic Research Group Films production with support from the Giant Dome Theater Consortium.

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Show Times

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Available for booking for school groups.

Venue

The Faulkner Planetarium, Idaho's largest domed theater, features the latest in fulldome technology, capable of virtually transporting audiences around the world and to the universe's far-flung reaches. The theater can seat 144. Open captioning for the hearing impaired is available upon request for many programs.

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Available for K-12 and Group Reservations

Paleoclimatologist Dr. Gina Mosely studies the long-past climate of our planet. She is particularly interested in when ice ages transitioned to warmer periods, called interglacials. But how, exactly, does one study a climate that no longer exists? The answer is caves.

Ancient caves preserve a record of the past climate within the formations, including stalactites and stalagmites. Adding to the challenge, many of the best caves for this kind of science are currently flooded.

Students will discover how Dr. Mosely uses cave formations to study the ancient climate and the dangers involved for those who risk their lives cave diving to bring her samples from deep within the Earth.

Book This Show

You can schedule a private showing for school field trips or private events!

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Educational Concepts

  • Earth undergoes alternating periods of ice ages and interglacials.
  • Natural processes in caves preserve a record of the climate over time.
  • Cave formations grow very slowly, and their growth rate is not uniform.
  • Stalactites and stalagmites grow layers over time, akin to tree rings.