Olentangy Indian Caverns | 614 Moms Playdate | 2017

I have such fond memories of the Olentangy Indian Caverns from when I was a kid, and I was so excited when we planned a 614 Moms playdate at the caverns this year.  In true 614 Moms fashion, we decided we wanted to try a new place that our kids have never been before, so we picked a warm Saturday morning in September put on our tennis shoes and headed out for a fun filled morning.  

We knew we wanted to maximize our two hours and the people at the caverns wanted to help us achieve our goal, so they sent us over a full agenda so we were sure not to miss a thing.  We started off with a self guided tour through the caverns and ended at the wonderful 50,000 square foot petting zoo.  It was the best day, my kids are already asking to go back, so is my husband ;-) (not joking) 

Our Self Guided Tour 

We gathered together and headed towards the entrance of the caverns, we of course had a few ground rules to go over. Hold the hand rails down the steps and watch your step, no running, and adults watch your head! :) A few of the kids were nervous about the long staircase but the ones who weren't scared encouraged their friends and everyone made it down and some even conquered their fears, which was amazing!!! We were lucky enough to have some amazing tour guides, the kids guided us through on their own terms which was so fun.  The giggles echoed through and left my heart smiling. 

 

 

Gem Mining 

After the kids took us on a complete tour of the caverns we headed back up the steps and straight to gem mining.  Each kid got a gem mining kit which consisted of a bag of dirt (with little gems hiding inside) and a sifter, a key to help them name the gems they found, and a bag to put their goodies.  We poured a little bit of the dirt into the sifter and ran it under the water, the kids LOVED finding their cool stuff. Since our adventure was in the fall, they had spooky gem mining bags that had a few extra surprises - like eyeballs, spiders, and more. A few of the kids found vampire teeth in their spooky themed bags and immediately put them in their mouths.  As parents, we were a little grossed out by that, but they had a blast and that's what mattered the most.  

 

The Petting Zoo

The last item on our agenda was the petting zoo.  I was really excited to see Gary the Goat again and the kids were sprinting over in excitement.  You guys!! I'm not kidding when I say this is the best petting zoo in Columbus.  50,000 square feet of fun, complete with a slide for the (human) kids, a rock wall, and swings (if you're lucky a goat will hop up there and swing with you).  Deer, Goats, Zebu Cows, and the newest addition a potbelly pig named Kevin Bacon.  We stayed in here for at least an hour, it was so fun.  The animals get really excited when they see you have food and will work really hard to grab it from you.  They aren't shy! ;-) 

I could talk all day about how much I love The Olentangy Indian Caverns but for now I will leave you with our photos from the day and who knows maybe soon I will do a Facebook Live, all about the caverns.  

These photos were all taken on my iPhone so not the greatest, but I LOVE them because they tell such an amazing story of our play date at the Caverns.  Scroll through them all, and towards the end you'll find a fun selfie I took with one of my favorite pals. :-)