Scuba Diving at an aquarium is one of the most unique diving experiences you can have as a Scuba diver. Firstly you have controlled water temperatures, limitless visibility and hundreds of marine specimens to view all in a single location. Aquarium’s also allow divers the opportunity to feed the fish, and get a behind the scenes tour of the aquariums filtration systems and food preparation areas. What makes aquarium diving even more interesting is the interactions you can have with the non-diving visitors through the viewing glass that is rather amusing. The fact that most aquarium fish are used to having divers in their tanks to feed and clean, means you can really observe the marine life up-close. Here is a list we have compiled of some of the Aquariums across America that allow divers this unique experience.
Underwater Adventures Aquarium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
The Underwater Adventures Aquarium hosed inside the Mall Of America in Minneapolis provides a program for $195 which includes, aquarium admission, a behind-the-scenes tour, a dive into Fisherman’s Hollow and Shark Cove, snacks and refreshments and a souvenir T-shirt to take home. The Aquarium offers two dives the first in a freshwater tank with local fish such as carps, walleye, sturgeon and Bass; and the second in a marine tank with various kinds of sharks and rays. The Underwater Adventures program does not include rental of Scuba Diving equipment which you need to bring your own or rent locally before you dive. For more information on this check out our article here.
Great Lakes Aquarium, Duluth, Minnesota
The Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth, Minnesota on the banks of Lake Superior, only recently opened its doors to scuba divers with the “Dive-N-Feed Experience,” which allows up to three divers to explore the 90,000-gallon freshwater tank set up to emulate the waters off Lake Superior’s Isle Royale. The three hour experience includes an orientation as well as the chance to hand-feed the fish in the 25 foot deep tank, a behind the scenes tour of the aquarium, a souvenir and refreshments . The species of marine life you get to see on this unique dive are, Steelhead rainbow trout, kamloops rainbow trout, brown trout, coaster brook trout, lake trout, siscowet, Atlantic salmon, coho salmon, American eels, lake sturgeon, walleye, longnose and white suckers. The cost of the Dive-N-Feed experience is $79 for divers that use their own scuba gear, and $99 for those that will rent the Aquariums Scuba diving gear. Divers are required to show proof of scuba certification by carrying their C-card.
National Aquarium in Baltimore
The National Aquarium, Baltimore’s Guest Diver Program is an opportunity for scuba divers to experience the best diving in Maryland by diving in the Aquarium’s most popular exhibits, the Atlantic Coral Reef and Wings in the Water exhibits. The program consists of two 30-minute dives in each of the exhibits and a pre-dive session where the basics of diving in the unfamiliar environment are explained. The Pre-dive also touches upon the role divers can play in reef conservation and is an educative session. The maximum depth that you will get to dive to in these tanks is 13 feet (4m) and sight some remarkable reef life up close such as rays, sharks and over 50 species of fish. The fee for the Guest Diver program is rather steep at $295 for two 30 minute dives, and divers are required to carry along their C-cards with them at the time of registration.
Downtown Aquarium, Denver, Colorado
Looking to scuba dive in downtown Denver? The Denver Aquarium provides divers with three programs “Dive With the Fish,” “Dive With the Sharks,” and “Swim With the Fish”. The Dive and Swim with the fish programs take place in the Aquariums “Under the Sea” tank, while the “Dive with the Sharks” takes place in the “Depths of the Pacific” exhibit. All divers receive a short presentation on the exhibit, fish biology, fish identification and scuba safety, plus listen to a short dive plan briefing. Overall the duration of the dive is around 40 minutes and will set you back $75 per person for “Swim With the Fish”; and $175 for “Dive With the Fish” and “Dive With the Sharks.” Price includes aquarium admission, T-shirt, fish ID booklet, snacks and a dive guide. Reusable underwater cameras are also available for sale.
The Living Seas at Epcot Disneyworld, Orlando Florida.
Certified scuba divers who are visiting Orlando will find the Living Seas at Disneyworld’s Epcot Center is one of the best aquarium exhibits to dive in. Home to a marine tank that measures over 200 feet in diameter and 25 feet in depth. This tank contains a wide variety of Caribbean in a reef environment including sharks, rays and turtles. The folk at the Living Seas claim that you will probably never see as many species of fish in one go if you actually went diving in the Caribbean. The Center’s Divequest tour allows certified divers to take a special three hour program that includes a forty minute dive in this marine tank. The price for this Caribbean dive experience is $140 and includes a behind the scenes tour of the facilities at The Living Seas.
photos by: andrew.deci, Brian Wilson , NASA Videographer,Akibubblet, Joshua G R, Joe Penniston
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My girlfriend and i have taken up diving all the different aquariums we can around the country as our something special to do. We have only done the one in Atlanta, GA so far but i think this webpage among ohters is a great tool to find them. Plus most of these dives are only a lil more expensive than taking a charter to a wreck dive. I hope others take up this great idea. Besides this way you can say you dove with sharks and not hungry sharks in an aqurium are much better than hungry sharks in the ocean.
I think thats simply amazing bigdougdog, Do Let us know about your experiences, and especially if there are other aquariums out there that offer scuba adventures. We would love to know first-hand from our readers which ones are worth a visit.