Bring Your Child to Work Day @ PADI

Wasn’t it always a blast to go with your mother or father to work when you were younger? Weren’t you always curious where your parents went and what they were really doing when they dropped you off for school in the morning? Last week, sons and daughters tagged along with their parents for a day at PADI. What they soon found out was that they would leave having taken their first breath underwater. A pretty amazing experience. Designed to be more than just a career day, the PADI Take Your Child to Work program goes beyond the average “shadow” an adult. PADI staff and instructors helped to lead a Bubblemaker class for these youngsters who couldn’t be more thrilled about getting in the water and transforming themselves into “scuba divers”. These kids experienced what scuba diving is really like, learned about scuba equipment, and had a lot of fun doing it!

The children enjoyed other activities throughout the day, but nothing near as exciting as the adventure of actually getting into the pool and blowing bubbles - something they will remember forever. They all left thinking – what a cool job my mother/father has!

Know Any Celebrity Divers

Let me start this blog entry by giving two random facts about me: 1) I'm obsessed with celebrities 2) I'm two open water dives away from getting my PADI Open Water Diver Certification Random I know...it will all make sense in a second. My name is Adrianne and I have worked at PADI Americas for just about a year now. Last month I started my PADI Open Water Diver Certification and will hopefully complete my last two open water dives this weekend. (Woo hoo!) I don't know if this has ever happened to you but do you notice things more once you have started something like a new hobby or event? Over the last month or so, I've noticed divers coming out of the woodwork! Since I'm wrapped up in my celeb magazines and entertainment shows, I have seen a slew of celebrities that are either talking about scuba diving or there are photo of celebs in scuba equipment (Paris Hilton and Doug Reinhardt or Claire Danes). There was even one full episode on the Girls Next Door (reality show on E!) that showed the three Playboy playmates (Holly, Kendra and Bridget) getting PADI Certified! Does anyone out there know of any celebs that are scuba divers?

Know Any Celebrity Divers?

Let me start this blog entry by giving two random facts about me: 1) I'm obsessed with celebrities 2) I'm two open water dives away from getting my PADI Open Water Diver Certification Random I know...it will all make sense in a second. My name is Adrianne and I have worked at PADI Americas for just about a year now. Last month I started my PADI Open Water Diver Certification and will hopefully complete my last two open water dives this weekend. (Woo hoo!) I don't know if this has ever happened to you but do you notice things more once you have started something like a new hobby or event? Over the last month or so, I've noticed divers coming out of the woodwork! Since I'm wrapped up in my celeb magazines and entertainment shows, I have seen a slew of celebrities that are either talking about scuba diving or there are photo of celebs in scuba equipment (Paris Hilton and Doug Reinhardt or Claire Danes). There was even one full episode on the Girls Next Door (reality show on E!) that showed the three Playboy playmates (Holly, Kendra and Bridget) getting PADI Certified! Does anyone out there know of any celebs that are scuba divers?

Are you an aquarium diver?

Did you know that there are a number of aquariums in the United States and other countries that allow divers to swim in their tanks? That’s right! For a fee (will differ at each aquarium), you can dive with endangered sharks or with the most exotic fish on the planet.

I did a quick online search and found these aquariums/resorts that offer dive opportunities:

Georgia Aquarium – dive along with the largest fish in the world - the whale shark (yeah, I said whale shark!!!)
Adventure Aquarium in Camden, New Jersey – swim in a 550,000 gallon tank along with over 850 sharks (over 20 different species)
Atlantis in Paradise Island, Bahamas – walk across the bottom of the shark exhibit in a specialized glass helmet
Epcot Center in Orlando, Florida - dive in the largest saltwater tank in the world along with over 6,000 different underwater creatures (PADI Diving Society members receive a special discount)

Of course there are other aquariums/resorts that offer once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to the public. Anybody have any aquarium diving stories or know of aquariums in your area that offer these dives? Tell us about it!