History of Diving Museum

10/15/2026

Ahoy, mateys! Join us for our FIRST-EVER Shanty Crew Sing-Along!
Step back in time and experience the musical traditions of life at sea at the History of Diving Museum on Saturday, October 17th, from 6:00–8:00 PM!
⚓️ 6:00 PM — Special Presentation
Join Tony Prior, a member of the maritime folk band, as he shares the history and origins of sea shanties and explores their fascinating connection to the Florida Keys.
🎶Sing-Along!
Then it’s your turn to join the crew! Sing along to traditional maritime songs, learn a few shanties, and enjoy an evening of nautical music, good company, and Keys history.
🍺 Fill your History of Diving Museum pint glass with b**r and raise a toast to the sailors, divers, and maritime traditions that helped shape the Florida Keys! Enjoy light refreshments, enter our raffles for some great prizes, and mingle with fellow shanty enthusiasts

10/08/2026

Meet your new diving buddy! Introducing **Adopt a Deep Sea Diver** from the History of Diving Museum!

When you adopt one of our plushies, you’ll receive an OFFICIAL DEEP SEA DIVER ADOPTION CERTIFICATE so you can give your new diving buddy a name and make them officially part of your family.

And don’t forget to **tag us in your photos** — we want to see where our divers go!

📸 Follow along as our divers explore the world!

🤿 Adopt your diver at the History of Diving Museum in store on online at divingmuseum.org

09/30/2026

Don't drive by, dive in to our October events at the History of Diving Museum!

09/04/2026

08/28/2026

Check out this historical footage of Bob Croft, Father of American Freediving!

07/29/2026

Happy birthday to William Beebe, born July 29, 1877!

Known as the “father of modern marine biology,” Beebe was an American explorer, biologist, and natural history writer.

Originally an ornithologist (someone who studies birds), Beebe developed a long-lasting fascination with the tropics after a 1903 expedition to the Florida Keys. In 1925, he led the Arcturus expedition to explore the South Seas, and brought along a boxed diving outfit: the Miami-made Miller-Dunn Divinhood. He began writing of his observations while diving, calling this underwater world the “society of wonders.”

Beebe then set his goals deeper. He worked with inventor and engineer Otis Barton to develop the Bathysphere, a small, unpowered, spherical submersible that allowed them to dive to a record-shattering depth of 3,028 feet in 1934 off the coast of Bermuda. Beebe described the fantastic creatures he observed at depth through a telephone line to the surface, and illustrator Else Bostelmann brought these descriptions to life, giving the world its first look at living deep sea creatures.

Beebe became known for writing about animals as they were alive in their natural habitats, rather than simply studying specimens, as was common practice at the time. After his dives in the Bathysphere, he wrote:

"After these dives were past, when I came again to examine deep-sea treasures in my nets, I would feel as an astronomer might who looks through his telescope after having rocketed to Mars and back, or like a paleontologist who could suddenly annihilate time and see his fossils alive."

Be sure to join the Museum on Saturday, August 15th at 11 AM and 2 PM for guided tours in honor of the anniversary of the deepest Bathysphere dive, set on August 15, 1934!

07/24/2026

Happy birthday to Amelia Earhart! Born July 24th, 1897.

While most well known for her aviation career, Earhart also took an interest in diving. In July 1929, she came aboard the Defender, a Navy-hired submarine docked in Brook Island, Rhode Island. She donned a diving dress used by renowned diver and Medal of Honor recipient Frank Crilley, who was present for her dive. Her attempt on July 22nd was cut short as her suit started to leak, and it was revealed that Crilley's wrist-cuffs were too large for her. She attempted a second dive the next day with new cuffs, and descended to 35 feet for 12 minutes.

Earhart said of the dive, when approached by the press; "It was nothing at all. Plenty of women have been deeper and stayed longer. Another time I hope to arrange a real dive sub-surface and [without publicity]."

She and another female diver, Dorothy Putnam, would descend in the Defender that same day, testing its newly-invented air pressure chamber. It was a day of many firsts, and she would return to flying shortly after.

07/23/2026

Today, we mourn the passing of diving legend Zale Parry. Sometimes called the “First Lady of Scuba,” Zale was a diving pioneer in every sense of the word.

Read the Museum's full article on Divenewswire here:

Today, we mourn the passing of diving legend Zale Parry. Sometimes called the “First Lady of Scuba,” Zale was a diving pioneer in every sense of the word. Zale learned to love the water from a young age; she once said, “I learned to swim when I was very small. As one of seven children, […]

07/18/2026

Learn all about the women pioneers of diving in today’s guided tours! These are included with your admission and available today at 11 AM and 2 PM for

07/17/2026

Join us tomorrow for our Women's Dive Day Guided Tours! Come learn about the pioneering women of diving history, alongside the 5,000 of the quest to explore under the sea within our exhibits. Tours will take place at 11 AM and again at 2 PM on Saturday, July 18. We'll see you there!