Where no one has gone before: A girls high school and NPS collaboration finds new waterways inside Mammoth Cave

In 2015, a student research group from Mercy Academy began a partnership with NPS scientists at Mammoth Cave National Park. Since then, the collaboration exploring underground waterways of the cave system has yielded extraordinary results. Previously unknown passages have been discovered, and inaccessible pools and passages have been surveyed and recorded in HD video using student-built remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). This project generates excitement about ecology, geology, and engineering in the school community and beyond. Young women who may not have considered a career in science or engineering are being excited and motivated by the thrill of discovery.