Started by a boat captain who couldn’t find it anywhere
“I wanted to teach kids about our oceans in a fun and exciting way — a way I couldn’t find anywhere around South Florida. So I created one.”
Since 2009 · South Florida
Meet Maya
I became a scuba instructor and camp counselor in the islands, then moved home to South Florida and started running ocean adventure camps in 2009. Thousands of children snorkeled, sailed, surfed and dived with us over the years. The twenty-four Jr. Marine Biologist kits started life as the lessons from those camps — tested on real kids, on real beaches, long before they were ever put in a box.
Today I homeschool my own two kids on a small Florida homestead, run marine science field trips for schools and co-ops, and ship Adventure Kits to families across the country. Every kit is designed by me, packed by hand, and built around one belief: kids remember what they do.
What Under Blue Waters is
Education. Exploration. Adventure.
Education
Jr. Marine Biologist Adventure Kits, digital lesson packs and a full 24-topic marine science course for ages 4–12.
Exploration
Field trips in the classroom and out on the water, homeschool co-op visits, and family scuba — across Florida.
Adventure
The belief that a muddy, salty morning in the mangroves teaches more than a worksheet ever will.
The camp years
Where the 24 topics came from
Island Adventure Camp ran out of Palm Beach: marine biology, snorkeling, free diving, scuba, paddle boarding and fishing, week after week, summer after summer. Every activity that made it into a kit earned its place on a real beach with real kids first.
Camp memories
Some of my favorite moments
A shark head that never came off, sisters on one paddleboard, and a leap off the boat that took three tries. Every one of these kids left knowing more about the ocean than when they arrived.
Why I do this
The ocean is the best classroom there is
Every lesson we ship, every field trip we run and every dive we teach comes back to one thing: getting kids close enough to the ocean to fall in love with it. Because kids protect what they love — and the ocean needs a whole generation of protectors.
For the parents who ask
Credentials
- B.S. Environmental Education, Eckerd College · Minor in Marine Biology
- PADI Scuba Instructor
- USCG-licensed boat captain
- Ocean camp director since 2009
- Step Up For Students approved provider
- Homeschool mom of two
Our promise to you
You’re already giving your kids an amazing education. We bring the ocean to your kitchen table — and, when you’re ready, take you out to it.