Volunteer Dive Program

Fancy yourself a fish? If you’re looking for a volunteer opportunity that will allow you to get more than just your feet wet, consider joining the New York Aquarium’s volunteer dive team.

The experienced scuba divers that make up the aquarium’s 50-person dive team are trained to do a range of tasks, including cleaning and maintaining the underwater exhibits and teaching visitors about our animals and their habitats. Volunteers become underwater docents, answering questions from inside the tanks through a communication device fitted into a mask. Outside the water, divers demonstrate their scuba equipment for curious visitors. They also stroll the grounds of the aquarium to interact with guests.

The team dives year-round in most exhibits. Because many of our tanks are filled with cold water, volunteers wear thick wetsuits (or dry suits) with hoods and gloves. A surface support person ensures the divers’ safety. The dive team is headed by dive safety officer Richard Blankfein.

General Requirements

• Interested divers must be able to commit to working one full day, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m., every other week for the span of a year.

• Volunteers must be at least 21 years of age.

• Volunteers must be certified SCUBA divers, with a minimum of 25 logged dives, which includes at least 5 made in the past year. If a certified diver has less than 25 logged dives, he or she can still become a Volunteer Dive Team intern. Interns are divers who were certified within the past 12 months, and who have logged at least 5 dives within that time span. Interns receive on-the-job training to become full-fledged members of the dive team.

Orientation
So that many of the administrative details can be covered in as short a time as possible, orientation meetings are being constantly scheduled. You must attend one such session. These meetings take only about an hour, followed by a tour of the facility. Orientation dates include:

•    Third Saturday of Jan., Mar., May, July, Sept., & Nov.
•    Fourth Sunday of Feb., Apr., June, Aug., & Oct.
•    Third Sunday of Dec.

Please call (718) 265-4738 to schedule your session, as occupancy is strictly limited. If our answering machine picks up, please state your name, phone number, and e-mail address twice, as well as the date of the meeting you wish to attend.

Document Requirements
No diver can be accepted for consideration without all of the following documents having been submitted. CPR, O2 Administration, and First Aid Certification may be obtained within six months after acceptance into the program.

•    Volunteer Diver Applicant Personal Information form
•    Appendix B, Diving Medical (note bold type on Page B – 3), signed by an MD or DO. (Appendix 2 and 3 must be given to doctor before the examination and attached to the doctor’s report)
•    Informed Consent, Waiver and Release
•    Volunteer Dive Program Agreement
•    Photocopy of highest level Dive Certification card
•    Photocopy of CPR Certification card, if you are so certified
•    Photocopy of O2 Administration Certification card, if you are so certified
•    Photocopy of First Aid Certification card, if you are so certified
•    Photocopy of last 25 dive log pages or all pages of Intern applicant divers.

Forms
Volunteer Diver Release for Aquarium
Volunteer Diver Agreement
Volunteer Diver Medical Information
Volunteer Diver Personal Information

Please Note: This opportunity is NOT a “Swim with the Dolphins” or “Swim with the Sharks” program.