Amenities are growing at Lost River Cave as dirt was turned Wednesday on an educational pavilion that will allow for an expansion of the park’s educational offerings and more room for outdoor events.

“Our mission has grown over the years to include really excellent programming, and we find ourselves in one indoor classroom,” Katie Cielinski, the park’s director of philanthropy, told the Daily News. “So anytime it’s raining or drizzly, or just really hot outside, we go up against the elements.”

Construction is expected to wrap up this spring. A press release states that the pavilion will measure 1,800 square feet once completed and a name for the structure will be unveiled then. The pavilion is being built behind the park’s gift shop near the wetland area.

It is designed as a “flexible outdoor classroom and gathering space” and will expand the park’s capacity for field trips and school groups. The release states that the pavilion will also provide more space for events like birthday parties.

The pavilion has been in the works for several years, with fundraising efforts dating as far back as 2018. Cielinski said a financial gift from Valerie Brown and Ken Kuehn, two longtime supporters of the park, allowed the project to move ahead.

“The pavilion has actually been on our needs list for years, and and it is their generosity that has literally brought it (to reality),” Cielinski said.

“This is more than a structure. It’s a legacy,” park CEO Justin Jennings stated in the release. “The young people who will learn in this pavilion will grow into the caretakers of Kentucky’s waterways, forests, and wildlife.”