Swimming with the Fish at the Denver Aquarium: A Ten Year Old's Experience

On May 10th 2008 Kathleen went swimming with the fish at the Denver Aquarium. This was her birthday present from her parents for her tenth birthday. Her parents explain that since she was little Kathleen has been fascinated by all things aquatic.

Kathleen and her father arrived at the aquarium at 10 AM on Saturday, they entered through the restaurant doors and went into the "Dive Lounge" to meet the rest of their group and the dive master. They spent approximately 30 minutes in a "briefing" on safety and the animals in the tank and then were given wet suits and snorkels. Kathleen's father said that initially Kathleen was given a floating device which she wasn't used to; he finally explained to the staff that she had been swimming on a team for 3 years and she would do fine in the tank on her own.

Once she was rid of the flotation device, she fiddled with the snorkel a little but got it straightened out and was able to move around the tank. "It took me a while to get used to breathing and not get water up my nose!" Kathleen said with a laugh. Her father noted that a staff member was keeping an eye on her in the tank throughout the swim.

I spoke to her afterward. Wearing her new blue t-shirt that said "I swam with the sharks" and sitting on her bed she was bouncing and animated. She was all excitement and very interested in the nurse shark which she described as having an interesting head and skin like a sting ray. She was quick to point out that it looked like sting ray skin but she didn't touch it because during the briefing the staff had reminded them not to touch the animals. "I sort of knew this," she said "but you can't touch fish even with gloves on. You can give them an infection." The nurse shark apparently kept to itself.