William learns about the features of a cave, including how water can erode limestone and the formation of stalactites and stalagmites.
The video
William Whiskerson, mouse explorer. Finds adventure, 'round every corner. Where will he go? Who will he meet? His amazing adventures, will make you squeak. William Whiskerson, mouse explorer.
Narrator: Here comes William Whiskerson in his amazing traveling globe.
William Whiskerson: Greetings, adventurers. I am William Whiskerson, the famous mouse explorer.
Narrator: William is on a hill. He can see stone walls, trees, and lots of sheep. But which part of the United Kingdom is he in today?
William Whiskerson: Cheese Phone, reveal my location.
Narrator: The Cheese Phone shows William where he is on a map of the world.
Cheese phone: Hello, William. Today you're in Yorkshire, in the north of England.
William Whiskerson: Wow. What a beautiful place Yorkshire is. Oh, I've got a message coming through on my Cheese Phone.
Emily: Hello, William. My name's Emily. Let's go on a cave adventure.
William Whiskerson: That sounds like an amazing adventure. Lock the location, Cheese Phone.
Narrator: The map shows William where to meet Emily.
William Whiskerson: Explorers, away!
Narrator: Along the way to meet his new friend, William passes lots of hills, and valleys.
William Whiskerson: Pleased to squeak you, Emily.
Emily: Pleased to squeak you, too.
William Whiskerson: LAUGHING
Emily: This is my friend Tom.
Tom: Hello, William.
William Whiskerson: Oh, Tom. We're all going on a cave adventure. What have you got on your heads?
Tom: These are special helmets called hard hats, William. We wear them in the cave to protect our heads.
William Whiskerson: Oh. Have you got one for me?
William and Emily: Explorers, away!
Narrator: The Cheese Phone map shows William's journey through the cave. As they begin their cave adventure, the explorers travel deep underground.
William Whiskerson: Wow.
Emily: Wow.
William Whiskerson: Yeah. Look at all these rocks.
Narrator: The caves are made of a rock called limestone. There is water flowing through the tunnels of the caves from underground rivers and streams. The water helps to carve out different shapes in the rocks as it flows through the caves.
Emily: Do you know the wetness that you feel on the rocks?
William Whiskerson: Yeah.
Emily:That's the water.
William Whiskerson: I see.
Narrator: The cave William and Emily are visiting was made when water flowed into holes in the ock, creating a large space inside.
William Whiskerson: What's that noise?
Emily: The noise is some water coming down from the waterfall.
William Whiskerson: Oh, a waterfall.
Narrator: And here is the waterfall.'
William Whiskerson: Wow. That's amazing. Cool.
Narrator: Emily shows William how the water from the waterfall has shaped the rocks. The explorers travel further into the cave.
William Whiskerson: What's this, Tom?
Tom: This, William, is a gower pool.
William Whiskerson: What's a gower pool?
Narrator: Gower pools are puddles that are made when water collects in the rocks. They come in all shapes and sizes.
William Whiskerson: Wow.
Narrator: There are all sorts of different-shaped rocks in the cave. They're called rock formations. A gower pool is just one kind of rock formation.'
Tom: Actually, William, this would be a great pool for you.
William Whiskerson: You're right. And look, there's even a diving board. LAUGHING Bit cold for a swim.
William Whiskerson:Emily?
Emily: Yeah?
William Whiskerson: Look at all the different shapes and colours.
Emily: Them ones look like little stones, don't they, covered in sand.
William Whiskerson: They do, don't they?
Emily: Yeah. I like that one.
William Whiskerson: That's a really big one, isn't it?
Emily: That one is bigger.
William Whiskerson: Yeah, you're right. Something just fell on my whiskers.
Emily: I know what that was.
William Whiskerson: What was it?
Emily: A drop of water.
William Whiskerson: Yeah. I think you're right. Oh, look. What are they?
Emily: Them?
William Whiskerson: Yeah.
Emily: Witch's fingers.
William Whiskerson: Witch's fingers?
Emily: Yeah.
William Whiskerson: That makes me scared.
Emily: I've got you, William, so you won't be able to be scared.
William Whiskerson: You're looking after me, aren't you?
Emily: Yeah.
William Whiskerson: Look, it says witch's fingers up there.
Emily: Yeah.
Narrator: In the cave, there are other rock formations with lots of funny names, like the judge's head. Can you guess what this one is? It's called the budgie.
William Whiskerson: I like the witch's fingers best.
Emily: They look slimy, don't they?
William Whiskerson: They do look a bit slimy, those fingers, don't they?
Emily: Yeah.
Narrator: While looking at the formations, Emily points out the different colours of the rocks.
Emily: When I light the tops, you can see some brown, and you can see some light brown.
William Whiskerson: What colour's that?
Emily: Black.
William Whiskerson: It gets very black deep inside the cave.
Narrator: The explorers reach the centre of the cave. This part of the cave is known as the cavern.
William Whiskerson: Emily?
Emily: Yeah?
William Whiskerson: What are those rocks hanging down called?
Emily: Stalactites.
William Whiskerson: Oh, wow. Like socks?
Emily: Yeah.
William Whiskerson: They're not stalac-socks.
Emily: No.
William Whiskerson: They're stalac-tites.
Emily: Yes.
Narrator: Stalactites are formed by water dripping through the limestone in the cave roof. As each drip falls, it leaves tiny pieces of rock behind. These stick to one another, and over hundreds of years grow into long, spiky stalactites. In the cavern, there are lots of thin stalactites called straw stalactites. They look a bit like spaghetti.
William Whiskerson: What a funny place this is.
Emily: Yeah.
Narrator: Sometimes, rocks also build up on the cave floor. They grow into rock formations called stalagmites. These form very slowly. They grow just one centimetre in height every 200 years.
William Whiskerson: Emily.
Emily: Yeah?
William Whiskerson: Shall we go and see some more things?
Emily: Yeah.
William Whiskerson: Come on, then.
Emily and William: Explorers, away!
William Whiskerson: What's that down there?
Emily: It's called the crazy pavement.
William Whiskerson: Crazy pavement?
Emily: Yeah.
Emily: It is a funny name.
William Whiskerson: It is a very funny name.
Emily: Can you see the witch's face up there, with the nose and the chin and the hair?
William Whiskerson: Wow.
William Whiskerson: Emily, that was a brilliant adventure. It was like being down a giant mouse hole, except for the drips.
Emily: William?
William Whiskerson: Yeah?
Emily: You can keep that hat as a going-away present.
William Whiskerson: Thank you. Then we can go on a cave adventure another day.
Emily and William: Explorers, away!
Narrator: Can you remember where William went today? William visited his friend Emily in a cave in Yorkshire. Can you remember what he wore to protect his head? He wore a special helmet called a hard hat. On his journey through the cave, he saw how the rock was formed into different shapes. William saw stalactites and stalagmites, and even something that looked like a witch's face.
William Whiskerson: Time to fly, explorers. We're off on another adventure!
Narrator: See you soon, William!
Video summary
Download/print a transcript of the video.
William Whiskerson explores a cave in Yorkshire.
Inside, he discovers how underground streams and rivers shape the cave through erosion. He also discovers different rock formations and learn how stalactites and stalagmites are made.
This episode introduces children to some basic geology and physical processes, including erosion.
Teacher Notes
After viewing the clip, show pupils a map of Ingleton in Yorkshire.
Can the children spot the White Scar Caves?
Taking their inspiration from the clip, pupils could use a variety of percussion instruments to create a cave soundscape, with watery drips, rushing underground streams and plenty of echoes.
As a follow up, ask pupils to help you suspend a wet stand of wool over a plate, with the ends of the strand in two jam jars filled with a mixture of water and baking soda.
You'll need a saturated solution, so keep adding baking soda until no more will dissolve.
Over a week or so, if left very still, crystals will form on the strand of wool to create tiny stalactites.
Later still, tiny stalagmites will grow up from the plate.
This helps demonstrate how rock structures form in caves.
This clip will be relevant for teaching Geography.
This topic appears in KS1/KS2 in England and Northern Ireland, Knowledge and Understanding of the World Foundation Phase in Wales and Early/1st/2nd levels in Scotland.
Living in an eco-village. video
William Whiskerson meets his friend Ewan, who lives in an eco-village in Shropshire.
A visit to the Caledonian Forest. video
William Whiskerson travels to the Highlands of Scotland to meet his friends Lewis and Breya.
Fossil hunting along the Jurassic Coast. video
William Whiskerson meets a fossil expert and learns how fossils were formed from the remains of plants and animals that lived millions of years ago.
Mountains and electricity. video
William goes to Scotland to see his friend Euan and visit a power station deep inside a mountain.
Growing and picking orchard fruit. video
William Whiskerson meets Lucy and Laura in an orchard. He learns about the different types of fruit that grow there including berries, cherries and apples.
How our milk gets from the farm to the shop. video
William Whiskerson meets Theo on his family farm. He learns how female cows make milk and then takes a trip around the farm where he sees a calf being born.
Life on the Isles of Scilly. video
William Whiskerson travels to the Isles of Scilly, a group of islands lying off the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain.
Transport, travel and landmarks of London. video
William Whiskerson meets Kulala who lives in London, and visit some of the key landmarks.
Jobs and tourism in a seaside town. video
William Whiskerson visits the seaside town of Weymouth. He explores the beach and sees tourists on the esplanade.
How honey is made. video
William Whiskerson meets Sophie and Ben and they visit a bee farm.
Travelling on a canal boat. video
William Whiskerson meets Sophie and Harry on their narrow boat and they take a trip along the Birmingham and Worcester canal
