If this is your first time using dive signs, you may want to learn common signals for underwater communications with the Dive signs game. You will need to do this activity in pairs, so find a dive buddy.

Activity steps

1. Unlike dive signs used for communicating safety and navigation information, there are no set rules for how to identify different animals on the reef using signs. Divers have developed some common signs, such as the ones above for a turtle and lionfish.
2. Try practising these signs. How do you think these signs represent the turtle and lionfish?
3. Now, have a look at more animals that live on the coral reef in the Coral life gallery.
4. Choose one of the animals in the gallery, but don't let your buddy know what it is. Then come up with a dive sign that represents it. Good animal dive signs show some of the defining features of the animal. For a lionfish, this is the spines along its back and for the turtle the shape of the shell and its fins.
5. Get your buddy to guess what animal you are trying to show. If they can't get it immediately, give them a clue.
6. Then it's your buddy's turn to make up a sign and for you to guess.
7. Keep on going until you have shared dive sign language for all the animals in the gallery.

Take it further

Professional scuba divers use signs to communicate underwater. To extend this activity, think about why the dive signs are important. What might you need to survive underwater? Why might you need to take it easy or slow down?