New students build skills during courses taught by certified instructors or begin open-water-diver certification process

• Expires Oct 3, 2012
• Limit 4 per person, may buy 2 additional as gifts. Limit 1 per visit. Valid only for option purchased. Reservation required. Must be 10 years or older. Must sign waiver. Operates in all weather conditions. Classes must be used by the same person. Swimsuit and towel required for Try Scuba option.
• See the rules that apply to all deals.

• $185 for an open-water-scuba-diver local package (a $375 value), which includes two academic sessions, six pool sessions, and five open-water dives
• $12 for a Try Scuba class (a $25 value)

During the two-hour Try Scuba class, greenhorns learn about diving equipment, such as the underwater-breathing apparatus necessary for any scuba excursion or voyage to unplug the drain of an especially deep bathtub. Confined in safe waters, participants can practice skills such as clearing water from the face mask, equalizing increasing water pressure, and preventing swimsuit bubbles from forcing bottoms toward the surface.

Alternatively, the open-water-scuba-diver local package leads students through lessons in the classroom and pool before turning them loose to explore the aqueous environs of their choice. Instructors supplement self-study with small-group review sessions and lead explorers into the pool to master free-flow regulator skills and gain further control over underwater motion. Students then take to the local lake to experience their first open-water dives and seal their certification's fate.

For more than 30 years, ZZ Underwater World has initiated swimmers into the world of scuba diving. Their year-round classes have taught people to safely plumb the depths of the Earth's largest seas, and their instructors are both SSI- and PADI–certified, rendering them able to certify their students and lead them on any level of dive from snorkeling to deep scuba. ZZ Underwater World's onsite shop sells snorkels and flippers among other gear from a wide range of brands, useful for people who thought Waterworld was a prophecy and are stocking up. The staff also hosts scuba vacations, taking troupes of divers to explore the wrecks of the Great Lakes or world-class destinations such as Belize or Fiji.