The History of Diving Museum, located in Islamorada in the Upper Florida Keys, is announcing their Grand Opening. They will celebrate this event on March 30 and 31st, between the hours of 3:00 PM and 7:00 PM. Refreshments will be available and the Museum will be open for complimentary tours.

The founders of the Museum, Drs. Joe and Sally Bauer are retired surgeons that have a passion for collecting dive related artifacts. They have been collecting for over 40 years. It is thought that the Bauer’s have the largest collection of dive helmets in the world. The Museum holds 125 and that is only a portion of what they actually have. The Bauer’s’, in addition to the museum, give a monthly lecture on different topics from the History of Diving.

The History of Diving Museum is unique in that as you walk the corridors it tells a story. The story of diving begins 5000 years ago when Gilgamesh, a Babylonian King, completed the first recorded free dive. The next step is 2000 years later when Alexander the Great had a Diving Bell made so that he could explore under the sea.

As you travel through time you will learn much about the development of diving helmets, beginning with a recreation of what likely was the first helmet. You will also learn about the Miller-Dunn Divin Hood and how it opened the door to recreational diving, treasure diving, underwater filming and marine Biology.

Speaking of Treasure, the museum contains a diorama of Art McKee who is considered the father of modern day treasure hunting. This gallery shows treasure that has been recovered from Spanish Galleons long ago lost. You can also see a 400 year old treasure chest and the world’s first underwater metal detector built by Art McKee.

The center piece of the museum and the story of diving is the Parade of Nations. This exhibit contains at least one helmet from every country in the world that ever built one. In this same exhibit you can see what very likely is the very first diving helmet ever built in the United States of America.

The museum also has on exhibit the first Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus (SCUBA) and a working replica of the first demand regulator and I bet that you think that you knew who invented them. You will be very surprised. The History of Diving Museum contains everything from coconut shell goggles to the Armored Deep exploration suits. It tells the complete story of diving right up to modern SCUBA and will be one of the highlights of any trip to the Florida Keys. The Museum is open daily Tuesday through Sunday 10:00 AM until 5:00 PM. You should consider it as a part of any group travel that you may put together. If you are in the area join us in the celebration of our opening, or on your next trip through the Florida Keys stop by and take an amazing walk through Diving History.