Home > News Lynn marine biology students get scuba lesson By Chris Stevens / The Daily Item

DANVERS Lynn English High School Marine Biology students got to put scuba diving book smarts to the test when they got a crash course in the real thing.

That was so awesome; I wish I was a fish, said junior Rochelli Jiminez after swimming the length of the pool in scuba gear at the Paul J. Lydon Aquatics Center in Danvers.

LEHS science teacher Joe Skahan said his students have been learning about scuba diving and underwater exploration, and he wanted the kids to have an opportunity for a hands-on lesson outside the classroom to see what its like to breathe underwater.

Skahan, who said hes been diving for a few years, put in a call to Undersea Divers in Beverly, and instructor Shaun Maguire offered to give the kids a free lesson.

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Seven of Skahans students fidgeted and giggled nervously as Maguire walked them through the process of diving while outside the pool. Once in the water, Maguire helped the students strap on vests outfitted with air tanks, regulators and gauges and showed them how to use them. Maguire had the kids get used to the weight and the feel of the equipment and try out the regulator before they donned masks and sank to the bottom of the shallow end of the pool.

After splashing around the kids made for open water in the deep end led by Maguire.

Jiminez popped up several times before she got the hang of actually breathing underwater.

I was nervous at first, she said. I thought I might drown.

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Lynn marine biology students get scuba lesson