Darkness. The cool air is pierced only by the light of an old-fashioned lantern, and the sound of a waterfall can be heard in the distance. Slowly, the cavern’s mysterious shadows are parted by the lantern’s flickering flame to reveal amazing rock formations: stalactites hang like icicles from the cave ceiling, stalagmites grow from the floor and fantastic rock drapes adorn the walls.

“Way cool,” whispers a girl to her father.

“Maybe we’ll spot some fossils,” says a mother to her 10-year-old son.

A Chattanooga spring break adventure has begun. . .

There’s no need to pack passports or hop an airplane to have a memorable spring break. Chattanooga, Tenn., offers a passport to family fun where six new family adventures await. These adventures will take you under the ground, into the clouds and behind-the-scenes at six great attractions.

The Tennessee Aquarium, Ruby Falls, Rock City Gardens, Creative Discovery Museum, Outdoor Chattanooga and the Hunter Museum of American Art have joined together to offer families a special, action-packed week of fun that’s just a short drive away. Families can be aquatic biologists at a world-famous aquarium, spelunkers deep within a cave or even detectives at the children’s museum. At the end of each adventure, families will take home special gifts and have their adventure passports stamped at each participating attraction.

Voted one of America’s top family weekend getaways by “Southern Living” magazine, and one of America’s top family destinations by Disney’s “FamilyFun” magazine, Chattanooga offers endless possibilities for everyone in your family. So pack your bags, load up the car and head on to Chattanooga!

What if your family could...

… be aquatic biologists at the world-famous Tennessee Aquarium? Families will learn just what it takes to fix breakfast for thousands of animals, feed the fish and meet butterfly keepers, snake and crocodile experts, shark specialists, plant tamers and some of the Tennessee Aquarium’s most charismatic creatures.

… delve underground and be spelunkers on a cavern tour, deep inside Lookout Mountain at Ruby Falls? Dig for fossils, learn about rocks and geology, view the cave’s mysterious chambers and amazing rock formations using only the illumination from a hand-held lantern or light from your very own hard hat.

… make like Lewis and Clark and glide down the North Chickamauga Creek in a canoe while observing turtles, herons, king fishers and more? Navigate your way downstream toward the Tennessee River while your guide tells you more about this amazing freshwater ecosystem, the Tennessee River and native wildlife surrounding you.

… be art explorers, complete with packs and a personal guide as you traverse the galleries at the Hunter Museum of American Art? Grab your art explorer kits and get the inside scoop on the scenic escapes and stories behind the art. Or, create a masterpiece of your own.

… be adventurers like Indiana Jones on a RockQuest scavenger hunt at Rock City Gardens, high atop Lookout Mountain? The Enchanted Trail takes you along 400 varieties of native plants and flowers, trekking through massive rock formations formed millions of years ago and you’ll even get to try your skills at rock climbing on the 40-foot climbing wall.

… be detectives following clues and completing Amazing Race-type challenges at the Creative Discovery Museum for children. Kids will wear many hats during the race and get to be paleontologists, artists, scientists, inventors, musicians or even riverboat captains. They’ll encounter the detours and roadblock challenges just like real detectives.