I’m on the inside, looking out through the 11-inch glass at a dozen wiggly, pint-sized campers in matching green T-shirts. They make goofy faces, frantically wave and make signals with their hands that beg an equally silly response. Inside the 400,000-gallon Shipwreck exhibit, aka the Shark Tank, at the Downtown Aquarium in Denver, I’m a diver on display. But before I can act on my big-kid impulse to indulge the little ones, two ferocious-looking sand tiger sharks glide among me and my admirers.

I’m distracted by the animals’ mouths agape, flashing me rows of askew, razor-edged teeth. While that slack-jawed look is regular sand tiger style, I’m paying extra-close attention to what’s happening just beyond my bubbles. With a swish of their six-foot bodies, the sand tigers swoop in over my head and do an about-face at a wall. For a mesmerizing moment as I lurk in a low-lying trench, I peer deep into one particular shark’s beady eye before he heads for one more lap close to the tank. At one mile above sea level and 1,000 miles from your nearest ocean, I can’t believe I’m holding court with specimens of magnificent species in tropical conditions–in the heart on the Rockies.

It is all part from the Downtown Aquarium’s guest dive plan, where the attraction is interaction which has a variety of animals inside tanks that would never share the same space inside ocean–sawfish from Australia, sand tigers from North Carolina, green turtles from Hawaii and zebra sharks through the Western Pacific. The Aquarium started this guided adventure three years ago, in conjunction using a local dive operator, and since then, a lot more than 3,000 divers have taken the plunge. The Aquarium’s two-tank dive contains swims from the Under the Sea exhibit followed by a shark dive in the Shipwreck exhibit–although most divers pick a one-tank experience. On Saturdays and Sundays year-round, a highest of six divers can dive in. It is an opportunity to hang out underwater, blow some bubbles and enjoy exceptional fish interaction in crystal-clear drinking water.

Component with the dive package includes getting a behind-the-scenes appear at aquarium operations. So, after checking in, we venture past giant filtration systems within the bowels of the building, then ride up the service elevator and circulate above the exhibits. We see the crane that runs on an overhead track to move huge fish and turtles among tanks. The crane is also applied with special harnesses to help paraplegic and quadriplegic divers in and out from the Under the Sea exhibit.

On our two-tank dive, we warm up using a plunge from the 200,000-gallon Below the Sea tank. It features encounters which has a 300-pound Queensland grouper; a 65-year-old Pacific green turtle; a group of hefty green moray eels; nurse sharks; tarpon and many other fish species. Our guides are Todd Hall, Downtown Aquarium’s dive director, who originated these dives, and Shane Taylor, general manager of A-1 Scuba and Travel Center, the dive shop the aquarium partners with. “In the ocean, you’ve got to go trying to find things,” Taylor says during our dive briefing. “Here, they come to you. They’re not bashful. This is their house.” The rule is: no touching or feeding the animals. We’re here only to observe and learn–even when that giant, puppy-dog-like grouper repeatedly edges in on you for attention. But if you are lucky sufficient to uncover a stray shark’s tooth although you’re underwater (assuming it is possible to peel your eyes off the fish long sufficient to scour the floor), your guides encourage you to keep it as a souvenir. All they ask, in case you uncover a tooth, is that you make an official donation (by putting cash from the lock box by the guest locker room) to the Shark Conservation Plan. The donations are applied to aid fund field research projects on sharks.

Back within the Shark Tank, it is like a scene out of an animated film about the sea: A 12-foot green sawfish with its curious snout nearly half that size meanders its way along the gravelly floor, along with a feisty Pacific green sea turtle swoops in to nip at a sandbar’s dorsal fins. Barracudas stalk the tank’s perimeter, although a guitarfish minds his bottom-feeding business. And still, on the other side on the glass, the kids seem a lot more enthralled by the divers, as if we’re the main attraction. I giggle by means of my regulator, then, finally acting on my big-kid impulse–and trying difficult not to upset any with the 20-plus sharks I’m diving with–I flash them a small, friendly wave.

InDepth

Getting Close to: The Aquarium is at 700 Drinking water St., just off Interstate 25. From your north, take I-25 South to Exit 211 (23rd Avenue), go left at the stop sign, then turn proper onto Drinking water Street. From your south, take I-25 North, exit at 23rd Avenue, then veer perfect as well as the aquarium is on your appropriate. From Downtown Denver (LoDo), take 15th Street west to Platte Street and turn left. Platte Street becomes Drinking water Street along with the aquarium is on your left.

Dive Conditions: The temperature inside the Under the Sea exhibit is within the mid-70s, having a optimum depth of 18 feet, while the Shark Tank temperature is within the low 70s, which includes a highest depth of 22 feet. Visibility is crystal-clear. To avoid exhibit contamination, all equipment is provided onsite, including 3mm or 5mm wetsuits, BCs, regulators, filled tanks, gloves, beanies, fins and weights. Well-scrubbed personal masks and cameras are permitted. Fish dives start at 11:30 a.m.; shark dives at 12:30 p.m.

Dive Outfitters: A-1 Scuba and Travel Center (a1scuba.com) offers Below the Sea and Shark Tank dives. Each costs $175 and includes aquarium admission for you plus a guest, guides, all equipment, fish ID booklet, shark conservation info, free of charge restaurant appetizer, T-shirt and validated parking. Snorkeling ($75) is for anyone 6 and older.

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