Aquarium Diver?????

[dvr4lyf]

Thinking about getting a c-card but how usefull can it really be?? would be cool though! Through PADI, anyone else done this yet???

 

[Don Burke]

Thinking about getting a c-card but how usefull can it really be?? would be cool though! Through PADI, anyone else done this yet???

I do. I am a volunteer diver at the Virginia Aquarium in Virginia Beach. I normally make a dive or two a week. For the holidays I am down to one a month.

It is really different. Holding trim at four or five feet is good practice for pretty much anything and waving to the kids is a lot of fun.

We do have one outdoor tank. Watching cars drive by while you are underwater in full SCUBA gear is an odd experience.

 

[LavaSurfer]

Thinking about getting a c-card but how usefull can it really be?? would be cool though! Through PADI, anyone else done this yet???

I just applied at the Baltimore Aquarium but I may back out.
The time commitment is very tough for me.
One day every other week @ 8 hours per day.
Not just weekends but weekdays as well.


That would eat my vacation up in a hurry.
If I can get the company to donate the days as charity or split them, I might still go for it.

Were you thinking Baltimore as well?

Scooter

 

[dvr4lyf]

Yes!!! I know the waiting list for volunteers for cleaning and such is extensive, which is why I was wondering if it was woth the time. Like you pointed out Lava they are asking for quite a commitment.

 

[ScubaTexan]

Thinking about getting a c-card but how usefull can it really be?? would be cool though! Through PADI, anyone else done this yet???

Is there a PADI Certification Card for Aquarium Diving?

 

[LavaSurfer]

Yes!!! I know the waiting list for volunteers for cleaning and such is extensive, which is why I was wondering if it was woth the time. Like you pointed out Lava they are asking for quite a commitment.

Have you applied?
I figure I will at least take the test in january.

 

[Don Burke]

Is there a PADI Certification Card for Aquarium Diving?

Shhh!!! Do not give them any ideas!

 

[mike_s]

Is there a PADI Certification Card for Aquarium Diving?

If so... it really means that PADI stand for "Put Another Dollar In".


Especially since you can get a PADI Golf Ball Diver certification
no... I'm not kidding... see http://www.mds-scuba.com/edu/golfball.htm

 

[DementialFaith]

Yes, let's invent a $50 dollar course for everything there is about diving, including how to put on a 6 mil/ hood vest course and a how to breathe eficiently underwater..... ok j/k

no, but the UC as well as most aquariums on the Cali coast do adopt a unified system... (ehh... forgot the name, and couldn't find it, sorry) that was the first in seperating out a qualifying standard from the original Coomerial standards for the research/aquarium divers. I think calling your local aquarium should get you more complete info.

 

[Hoyden]

I just applied at the Baltimore Aquarium but I may back out.
The time commitment is very tough for me.
One day every other week @ 8 hours per day.
Not just weekends but weekdays as well.


That would eat my vacation up in a hurry.
If I can get the company to donate the days as charity or split them, I might still go for it.

Were you thinking Baltimore as well?

Scooter

Most new volunteer divers at the National Aquarium in Baltimore start on weekdays. There are very few weekend slots available each year and current divers have priority. The time commitment (8hrs every other week) is pretty much the same as for any volunteer slot there except that most (non-diver) volunteers do 4 hours every week. I volunteer there both as a diver and as a non-diver and enjoy both. If you want to be a volunteer diver there you can find information at http://www.aquadivers.org/?page=facts. You take a written test (last year maybe 120 people took the written test), the divers with the top 40ish (depending on scores and how many divers they anticipate needing in the coming year) scores get called back for an interview and in-water skills test. They take the top 20ish of those and put them on the waiting list for dive slots in order of their total scores. While waiting on the list, you will go through basic aquarium volunteer training and may have a chance to do other volunteer work at the aquarium. When a slot opens, it is filled from the divers on the waiting list who have listed that day as one of the days that they are available. The wait can be long, but it is totally worth it!!!! Not only is it a great way to help promote ocean conservation, it is very fun, you get to meet lots of neat people (I met my regular dive buddy during the testing program) and there is the free warm water diving all year long. You spend about 3 1/2 to 4 hours in the water per dive day.

The PADI Aquarium Diver C-card http://www.atlanticedge.com/training_aquarium.shtml is a program set up by a local dive shop (Atlantic Edge) in Gaithersburg, MD. For $295 you can take a class that includes a classroom session, a pool session and a dive in the Ray tray and the Atlantic Coral reef tank. It has nothing whatsoever to do with becoming a volunteer diver at the NAIB - although it would be a good way to get an idea of whether or not you'd like diving there.

Jackie Cooper
NAIB Monday B