Inner Space Caverns with the Carful of Kids

So it's been raining in Texas for months and everything I have planned to do with the carful of kids has been rained out. We love to spend time exploring our outdoor world and there is one place that never gets rained out--A Cave.

The carful of kids love caves and we stop at the caves that we pass on our road trips. But somehow we have never visited Inner Space Caverns in Georgetown, Texas, so we headed over there recently to check it out.

Wonder why Inner Space Caverns is conveniently located on Interstate 35? It was discovered in the Spring of 1963 by the Texas Highway Department while they were drilling core samples to see if the ground was staple enough to support an overpass.

While drilling one of the holes, the drill bit suddenly dropped 26 feet. Something must be down there.

Word traveled and the Texas Speleological Society was selected to do the survey. In November of 1963, the first explorers were lowered down the 6-inch wide hole through  solid limestone into the cavity below. Within a few weeks, 7,000 feet of the cave was discovered and surveyed.

Inner Space Caverns opened to the general public in the summer of 1966. Its been a popular destination for school-age kids ever since.

This is a great tour for the carful of kids because it is relatively short at a little over an hour. The temperature inside the cave is a moderate 72 degrees year-round.

The carful of kids get a great tour guide and have a hard time not running down the steep ramp to the cave below. Of course, we are told to walk, maybe next time.

We walk from room to room with ease and it is not at all claustrophobic. The cave is well lit and none of the kids on the tour have any issues with the dark.

Look good, It's a BAT.

The tour guide tells us about the formation of the geological features and how water is responsible for forming the stalactites and stalagmites. This cave is a living cave so the carful of kids can't touch the formations since it will kill their ability to grow. 

About half way through our tour, the tour guide stops short and shines his flash light a few inches above our heads. To his delight, the carful of kids spot a BAT, yes, a tiny, little bat. The kids on the tour go WILD trying to climb over each other  to see it. 

The tour guide moves the tour along and the bat remains unharmed. He gathers the group in another room and gets our attention.

FLICK, he turns off the lights in the cave. Wow. Black. The kids start to howl like kids, in the dark, underground. Before it gets too crazy, he turns the lights back on and I'll admit, I'm a little relieved.

At the end of the tour, we walk by the exhibit displaying all the prehistoric animals they have found in Inner Space Caverns. I won't spoil the surprise but if you have a dinosaur-loving kid, then this is a must visit.

Inner Space Caverns is a great half-day stop for the carful of kids. There is a gift shop and a small snack stand and it is an easy drive up I-35 from Austin, about 25 miles from the center of the city.

Inner Space Caverns, located at 4200 South I-35 Frontage Road, is open from 9 a. m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a. m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For the kids 4 to 12, admission is $ 11.95 and for the adults, it's $ 19.95. Inner Space Caverns is NOT wheel-chair accessible, so that means no strollers either.

Know before you go: The trails are wet in spots, wear tennis shoes for the best traction. The temperature is a mild 72 degrees year round.