York Divers visited Alexander D. Goode Elementary as part of a reading lesson.
York Divers Phil Bath, center, and Sherri Stough, left, surprise Denise Bath's class at Goode Elementary School Monday in York. (YORK DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS - PAUL KUEHNEL)
What happens when scuba divers run out of air?
That was one of the many questions put to two divers who visited a first- and second-grade classroom Monday at Alexander D. Goode Elementary in the York City School District, along with their wet suits, tanks and gear.
"That's a good question," said Sherri Stough, owner of York Divers. She explained that she would move her hand back and forth across her throat "so my diving buddy knows I'm out of air."
The buddy would know to share air from his tank, she said.
Stough and Philip Bath, a scuba diving instructor and also husband to teacher Denise Bath, demonstrated how their equipment works and answered who, what, when,
From left, Shakaylah Suggs and Jonathan Feliz try what it's like breathing with an air tank, with the help of York Diver Sherri Stough Monday in their Goode Elementary classroom in York. ( YORK DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS - PAUL KUEHNEL)
where and why questions from the students as part of their reading class.
Their questions included:
Where do you dive?
What is your outfit called?
Have you seen colorful fish?
Can you talk underwater?
Both divers said they go wherever there is deep water. York Divers leads groups in the ocean. A film shown to the class pictured Bath and his sons diving off the Bahamas during the feeding of Caribbean reef sharks.
Bath said he also regularly dives at the National Aquarium where he feeds the animals, cleans the glass enclosures and "waves to the people."
They also demonstrated how to breathe and inflate their suits when they need extra buoyancy. Philip Bath explained that a diver must plan his dive and watch the gauge that shows how long he's been underwater and how much air remains in the tank.
The visitors to Denise Bath's class allowed the students to take a few breaths from the tank, or walk around in their flippers.
"I'm a penguin," said Jackxtyn Enders, a first-grader, as she tried on the flippers.
As Samantha Barbosa, 7, a first-grader, tried to lift the tank to find out how heavy it was, Denise Bath, asked, "How would you like to walk around with that on your back?"
In answer to more questions, the divers said they've seen starfish and octopus, adding the latter animal is usually shy of people. They've also seen lionfish -- an orange and white fish that can deliver poisonous venom from one of its many long dorsal fins.
The film pictured the sharks, a sea turtle, pipefish and a shipwreck.
Students imagined what it must be like to swim with the fish.
"I think it's so cool because you get to put on the flippers," said Ambrozjion Wilson, 8, a first-grader.
Athena Spanakis, 8, added, "it's funny - the flappy feet."
Learn more about local education here.
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