Stop into the visitor center and small museum to see an original Maya skeleton , laid out the way she was buried with jade and obsidian artifacts. A re-construction painting shows what Cahal Pech would have looked like, the temples and palaces colored white and red, thatched houses of the common people around the complex. And check out chocolate pots, vase with face of a Maya god (great ideas for clay class), and stone blades.

Before you climb up the biggest pyramid in front of Plaza B (the Audencia), go around to the left. This was the residential palace area , where people lived and slept. There's a warren of rooms for kids to run around and explore, one room is totally dark.

Wildlife - In the grassy plazas, look for lines of leafcutter ants , carrying green leaves sometimes much bigger than the ants themselves. Blue Morpho butterflies are fluttering around, and you may see howler monkeys in the trees around the ruins.