When we think of snorkelling, we often think of going abroad to somewhere warmer and more exotic… but Scotland is bursting with marine life (granted the water can be a little chilly!). When snorkelling in Scotland you could see everything from small sea squirts and anemones to fish and crustaceans to dolphins, whales and harmless basking sharks!

When snorkelling, divers need to use hand signals to communicate with each other. This can be from giving navigation directions to pointing out wildlife species. Some species can be harder to spot because of their camouflage or tiny size, so it can be helpful for snorkellers and divers to be able to point out species they have seen to the others!

When describing a marine creature, hand signals typically mimic their appearance or movement. Many of these hand signals are also shared with sign languages, such as American SL!

Below is a fun warm up game to learn some marine life hand signals, all of which can be found in Scotland!

Fancy getting in the water and looking for marine life? We have award-winning snorkel trails across Scotland’s coasts! Find out more on our website here

What you will need:

• An open space (e.g. by the coast, a grassy area, or an indoor space)
• Instruction sheet (can be printed or digital copy)

How to play:

There are a few ways to play this game, depending on your space and group size, but we have outlined an example below.

1. Download the hand signal instruction sheet below. Print it out or have a digital copy available.
2. Mark the boundaries of a rough area so everyone knows to stay in the zone during the game.
3. Go through each hand signal (there are eight, but you don’t have to use them all) with your group so everyone becomes familiar with them – going over each one at least twice is ideal.
4. Start by getting your group to warm up by moving around as if they are snorkelling under water. Whilst everyone is snorkelling around, shout out a marine species (e.g. shark) – everyone stops and makes the sign for shark, then starts snorkelling around again. You can play it like this, shouting out different species, for as long as you like.
5. You could also act out the marine animal and the group need to guess what it is by replying with the hand signal. Or, if you want to add a competition element, you could have individuals go head-to-head and first one to sign correctly gets a point.