2025 AAUS National Scientific Diving Day 

AAUS celebrated National Scientific Diving Day (November 22) with a full week of storytelling that spotlighted the incredible work of AAUS scientific divers around the world. Leading up to the big day, divers, DSOs, and Organizational Members shared photos and videos through an AAUS social media photo contest—resulting in 274 individual submissions (far more than we could feature in a single week!).

We also hosted Instagram Story “takeovers” that captured a day in the life of AAUS scientific divers across every U.S. region and even internationally! A special thank you to the Organizational Members who participated: UC Santa Cruz, Boston University, Loveland Living Planet Aquarium, Moody Gardens, Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, and the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology.

Thank you also to everyone who shared, commented, and liked these posts! The response was overwhelming, with enthusiastic feedback from divers worldwide—and the numbers tell the story. During the NSDD campaign week, AAUS Instagram engagement surged, reaching tens of thousands of viewers and dramatically increasing profile visits and overall reach. This type of outreach is both amazing for our community as we get to see what everyone else is doing, but also for those outside of our community; sharing the incredible work that you all do while putting safety at the forefront uplifts our mission!

National Scientific Diving Day continues to grow each year, and AAUS is excited to keep building this platform to celebrate the people, programs, and science that make our community so impactful. We hope you’ll join us in future NSDD celebrations!

Instagram Highlights (Nov 16–23)
• 80,000+ views and 13,700+ accounts reached (↑ 385% from the previous week)
• November views up 465% compared to October
• Profile visits up 559% week-over-week