The New York Aquarium's Diving Docent Program Offers Divers a Year-Round Encounter with Exotic Aquatics

Diving and New York City don't automatically seem to be a match made in aquatic heaven. But if you love the briny deep, there are underwater treasures a plenty in the city if you know where to look.

The New York Aquarium's "Diving Docent" program is one. If you are a certified diver and have a year to offer as a "diving docent" you can dive in the Aquarium's exotic fish tanks once every other week and teach kids about sea life, too.

"We have about 32 volunteer divers now," says Richard S. Blankfein, the Aquarium's Dive Volunteer Coordinator. "New volunteers are coming in every day and we're hoping to grow the program much larger."

The program as it exists now offers certified (PADI, NAUI, SSI) divers the opportunity to swim with some of the world's most exotic sea life primarily in the Aquarium's Glover's Reef tank. Sea life is indigenous to the Caribbean coral reef. Moray eel, goat fish, yellow tail snappers and many other species swim around divers as they perform cleaning duties as well as lecture students from two way mikes built into their equipment.

"Right now, our youngest diver is 21 and our oldest is 71," says Blankfein. "We have doctors, accountants, computer programmers-even a lawyer or two."

Blankfein says one of the nicest aspects of the experience, apart from the diving is the camaraderie. "My divers are all part of the aquarium family," he notes. "It's a really unique experience, diving with these animals. No one takes it for granted. It's a special experience for special people."

And if you're yet to be certified, consider taking lessons and getting your wet degree at Adventure Scuba (1737 York Avenue, 212-876-3483). Adventure is one of the only pool-equiped schools that can vet you for a PADI certification. If you're already certified but want to find cool, short-term dives in and around New York (Coney Island and other New York shores often attract scuba divers) try logging onto www.nycdivers.com where you'll find extensive lists of diving contacts and listings of diving trips-both local and further afield.

For more information on the New York Aquarium diving docent program, log onto www.nyaquarium.com