As a child, I thoroughly enjoyed my experiences snorkeling both at the aquarium and in the ocean. However, going back into the water as a healthy adult with a bit more knowledge about the world around me just… hit different this time. I first realized that I would get so much more out of my time at the Denver aquarium as an adult as soon as our snorkeling guide took us behind the scenes, showing us a glimpse of the huge filtration systems used to perfectly maintain 1.5 million gallons of water.
“I could definitely see myself working here…” I remember thinking to myself as I watched a scientist in a hoodie and jeans walk out of the saltwater filtration room with a handful of bioreactor samples.
“We test the bioreactors every hour or so to ensure that there are no contaminants in any of our water systems.” our guide explained, “We have year-round internships for that kind of thing if any of you guys are interested.”
We were then led to the guest locker rooms to get into our swimsuits. As soon as I walked into the locker room- which hadn’t been renovated at all since I was a little girl- I was hit with a flood of good, nostalgic memories from my previous two adventures at the aquarium.
As quickly as I could, I got into my swimsuit and tied my hair back. Then, wrapped in my green beach towel, I stepped out into the hallway to wait for everyone else to finish. There, we met our second guide- the one who would be taking us into the water.
We got into an industrial elevator that took us to the third floor of the aquarium. On the walls of the elevator were posters of various sharks scientists at the Denver aquarium had tagged to monitor their movements. Most notably, there was a tiger shark off the east coast that was pregnant. This was great news to conservationists, especially since Tiger sharks don’t live as long as other shark species, and also have a long gestation period.
“You guys won’t be swimming with the tiger sharks today,” our guide assured us, “But, you will be hanging out with a nurse shark and a couple of shovelnose sharks, all of which have tiny mouths used to feed on very small organisms.”
“Damn it.” I smirked to myself, “I want to swim with the Tiger sharks.”
With a huge rumble, the industrial elevator doors opened to a huge, concrete room that smelled strongly of salt water. My glasses immediately fogged up upon stepping out onto the diving deck. To my right I could hear the sound of a roaring waterfall. To my left there was a door opening up into one of the tropical exhibits, where an aquarium keeper was busy putting food into a tank.
Our guide led us to the edge of the tank we’d be swimming in that day to give us a briefing. To be honest, I did not hear a word she said. Hundreds of gallons of water were rushing out of several huge pipes very close to me, and I was entranced by what I could see on the surface of the tank. For the ten minute briefing, I watched cownose rays, tarpons, an eel, and even a shark fin breach the water.
“Wow!” the guide shouted loud enough for me to hear, “The nurse shark is out and about! That never happens!”
As soon as the briefing was over, I was sized up for a wetsuit while another guide cleaned and disinfected my mask for the tank. Putting on the wetsuit was much easier than I remember it being. I was also given a pair of thick gloves and a hood to keep my ears and chin warm in the 68 degree water.
Finally, I stepped onto a rocky platform and down a flight of stairs into the salty, cold water, where I was given a pair of blue rubber fins to try on. Once I showed my guide that they fit, I was instructed to put my head underwater to ensure my mask did not leak. Amazingly, while I couldn’t see much detail outside of the water without my glasses, underwater, my vision was almost perfect. I watched tropical fish of all kinds swimming around in the tank below me until my guide gave me the go-ahead to swim out on my own.
