During the first half of 2020, 94% of show caves worldwide closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the International Show Caves Association (ISCA). There are 144 show caves in the U.S. and more than 1,600 show cave businesses throughout the world. Show caves are a popular school field trip option for many school districts and “each year millions of school children visited show caves to learn about geology, hydrology, paleontology, archeology, conservation, and ecology. The educational value of field trips cannot be replaced by in class or remote learning,” ISCA officials said. Children on school field trips account for 1.05 million visitors to show caves in the U.S.