Let visitors choose what to watch or look up on a touchscreen.
About us
Look closer at life beneath the surface
We’re friends who love diving together. We set up Dive.Explo360 as a French non-profit under the 1901 Associations Act. We share what we see underwater so more people can get to know marine life.
How we work ↓Marine life you can see on a dive
We document species divers can encounter for themselves. We cover several regions and focus on depths divers can reach within their qualifications and local rules.
We focus on the species you might meet on a dive. Use the footage and profiles to identify them, watch their behaviour and see how they fit into their habitats.
Look closely, identify what you see and find out how it lives.
Observing and sharing
Why watercolours?
Before underwater photography, naturalists and travellers drew what they saw. A sketch of a fin or a note about colour could help someone recognise the same species years later.
The watercolours are our way of thanking the people who drew what they found and left a record for others. We’d like to pass on what we’ve learnt in the same spirit.
Footage captures the way an animal moves and the light around it. A watercolour lets you linger over the shape of a fin or a marking you might recognise on your next dive.
The divers behind Dive.Explo360
We’ve been diving together for years. The footage and field notes we bring back from those dives are the starting point for everything we share here.
The project began with videos our team filmed underwater. We use them to record where animals live, how they behave and what happens when they encounter one another.
If something catches your eye on a dive, we want to help you identify it and find out how it lives.
From our dives
Where it began
We spent years diving around the Hyères Islands, especially Porquerolles and Port-Cros. The Mediterranean is still the sea we know best. We film species in their natural habitats and watch how they behave and interact.
Each dive can give us something to build on, from a clip of an unfamiliar species to a question for a lesson.
interactive dives · species profiles · articles · learning paths · games · dis-MOI · dive logs
When an animal appears in a video, identify it on screen, open its species profile or follow up with an article or learning path.
Observe→Ask questions→Identify→Understand→Explore→Remember→Share what you find
How you can use the collection
Browse online at your own pace, or use the footage with a group. Choose a format to suit your venue, audience and activity.
online · at a touchscreen kiosk · on a large screen · through a headset · with an educator
Watch underwater footage together on a large screen.
Explore real dive footage in a headset, with someone to help you look for details.
Use the collection for a self-guided visit, a group screening or a session led by an educator.
For different ages
Four reading levels
Start with the same animal, habitat or behaviour and choose a version for ages 6–10, 11–14, 15–17 or adults.
6–10 years11–14 years15–17 yearsAdults (18+)
The language and level of detail change to suit the reader.
Tools for exploring
What did I just see?
Use clic-M.O.I to identify what you see on an interactive dive. dis-MOI lets you look up general questions about marine life and find answers for your selected region when translations are available. For a closer look, open a species profile, article or learning path. You can also try a game or keep a dive log in Explorarium.
Everyone can use the full version of dis-MOI free of charge while it’s being tested.
Keep a question in mind for your next dive and see what you notice.
Behind the scenes
How a dive becomes a learning resource
Our team films marine life and records what we see on dives. Back on land, we edit the footage and build the website and tools that let people explore it.
The people who make the material retain ownership of their work. The association sets the terms under which Dive.Explo360 can use it.
The Mediterranean remains at the heart of the collection.
Exploring other seas
Contributors
Contributors help us document marine life in the Red Sea, the Maldives and Raja Ampat. We’re still building up those collections. Underwater videographers can help by sharing footage and their knowledge of the places they dive.
Each contributor has a profile with the regions they explore and links to their website and social accounts.
Getting to know the life we want to protect
We want a child seeing life underwater for the first time to have the same chance as a diver to look closely and find out what’s going on.
We’re building a visual record, mainly of Mediterranean marine life, one dive at a time. Each observation tells us what we saw at a particular place and time. Together, they offer a record of the places we’ve explored.
Seeing an animal in its habitat can make you want to know how it lives.
Knowing how it lives can help you see what it needs to survive.
How we work
An independent association
How we fund the project
The association and its members have funded most of Dive.Explo360 themselves so far. We receive no regular funding from institutions or federations.
We can decide how to develop the tools ourselves. How widely we can make them available depends on the resources we have.
We welcome partners who can help bring the footage and learning tools to new audiences.
For clubs, schools and venues
Dive clubs, associations, schools, educators, businesses, local authorities, museums and aquariums can choose a licence that covers how they want to use the collection.
Personal use of the site is free. Licences cover group use, teaching, professional projects and screenings.
Discover licencesBecome an ambassador
Help introduce more people to Dive.Explo360 by demonstrating the tools and sharing what you know about marine life.
Explore the learning toolsMedia and institutions
We can tell you how the project started, demonstrate the tools and show how we use the team’s footage in teaching and outreach.
Our footage can help you show your audience the marine life we encounter on dives.
Contact usWould you like to work with us?
Use the contact form below to tell us about your audience, your venue or what you’re planning.
Contact Dive.Explo360