Reserve Your CAVE TOUR Tickets for Bat Night
Saturday August 22nd from 3pm – 10pm
Bat Night 2026
Calling all Junior Scientists!
Bat Night is a real science opportunity for young kids and the whole family to interact with real Pennsylvania bats alongside real bat biologists.
All day activities include crafts from our great friends at Lincoln Caverns, hourly presentations from world-renowned bat biologists, and engaging fun projects.
Plan to stay late into the evening when bat behaviors start to pick up. Hands on activities include swarm-trapping demonstrations where you can see real bats up close guided by trained biologists, plus take a ride on a one-of-a-kind SonoWagon to listen for flying bats!
All events listed below are free of charge. Tentative schedule below subject to change. Event is rain or shine.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
ALL DAY CRAFTS
3:00-8:30— Being a Bat Biologist
This activity is intended to show young scientists the process of being a field biologist. Participants go through the process of removing their bat capture and collecting data on that bat. **No live bats are used in this activity.
- Bat toys for net demos
- Setting 4m practice net with bat toys
- Stickers “honorary bat biologist” for removing bat toys from nets & processing bat toys
3:00-6:00— Pennsylvania Bat Conservation and Rehabilitation and Live Ambassador Bats
What is the rehabilitation process? Learn what measures are taken to get these bats healthy enough to be released back to the wild. You will have an opportunity to safely see some -live bats- up close that are currently under their care.
4:00-8:30— Bat Crafts and Games
Join Lincoln Caverns and build your own Bat Kazoo, Recycled Can Bats, Bat Bookmarks, and Bat Fortune Tellers and more. Play Bat Species Match Game in-between interactive group games of Bat Echolocation, Year in the Life of a Bat, and the much anticipated Bat Hula Hoop Game. **No live bats are used in this activity.
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
3:00 — Bats of Pennsylvania
Jennifer Brumbaugh-McClain, Coordinator at Lincoln Caverns. Pennsylvania is home to at least 6 bat species year-round and at least another 5 that occur in the summer. Learn something about each of these and gain an appreciation for these masters of the night.
4:00 — Pennsylvania Bat Conservation and Rehabilitation
Stephanie Stronsick, Founder and President. There are so many threats that face bats in nature. Each year nonprofit PABCR takes care of numerous bats, some are adults, some are tiny newborns. What is the rehabilitation process? Learn what measures are taken to get these bats healthy enough to be released back to the wild. You will have an opportunity to see some live bats that are currently under their care.
5:00 — Chasing the Night Flyers
Keith Christenson, Biologist. Join Keith for a discussion of bat field work from across the World.
6:00 — Summer Bat Sightings and Sound
John Chenger, Founder and President of Bat Conservation and Management. Learn why some bats are in buildings, rocks, trees, and leaves in the summer. Learn how & why biologists eavesdrop on bats speaking. Learn a little about exaggerated concerns about bats in a house, how to get them safely out, and how to provide a space space for them.
7:00 — Winter Bats in Caves, Mines, & Tunnels
Chris Sanders, Founder and President of Sanders Environmental and owner of Woodward Cave. Join Chris on a virtual visit underground and learn why 6 species of Pennsylvania’s bats rely on these spaces for survival.
8:00 — Worldwide Importance of Bats
Keith Christenson, Biologist. Of the ~1,500 kinds of bats around the world, Keith will dazzle us by highlighting some of the species that benefit humans in unexpected and sometimes eye-opening ways.
LIVE BAT DEMONSTRATIONS!!!
8:00-10:00 — Bat Calls on the SonoWagon
Climb aboard our SonoWagon outfitted with high-tech bat listening microphones and take a slow ride around the campground “fishing” for bats. Watch as bat calls appear on the monitors and are identified. A limited number of kid-friendly bat detectors are available to eavesdrop Rides leave about every 30 minutes, take more than one ride because different species of bats visit all night long!
8:00-10:00 — Live Bat Capture In Hand
Witness real life swarming bats as they are being captured at the cave entrance. We live trap for data collection and assessment of their overall health, then are released unharmed. This type of work allows us to better manage the bats of Woodward Cave.