For more than two decades, Margo and Tom Peyton, founders of Kids Sea Camp and Family Dive Adventures (KSC), have built a reputation for creating some of the world’s most memorable family diving experiences.
That dedication to education, safety and meaningful family connection continues to resonate throughout the dive industry, contributing to Kids Sea Camp’s recognition in the 2027 Scuba Diving Readers Choice Awards.
In 2026, the organization remained busy leading families around the globe through destination dive travel and liveaboard adventures. Yet for the Peytons, the focus was never simply about logging dives or checking destinations off a bucket list. Their mission centered on delivering a higher standard of safety, wellness, and personal growth for every family they welcomed underwater.
The ‘Bunny Slope’ Philosophy
When Margo Peyton talks about introducing families to diving, she often uses an unexpected term: The “Bunny Slope.”
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Borrowed from the skiing world, it has become her affectionate description for the level of care, patience, and attention Kids Sea Camp provides to children and families learning to dive and explore new environments.
Whether a child is taking their first breaths underwater, spotting a sea turtle for the first time, or traveling internationally for the first time, the program is intentionally designed to create confidence through support rather than pressure.
Peyton explains:
“We understand that families are often experiencing something entirely new together. Our job is to create a nurturing environment where everyone feels comfortable learning at their own pace.”
That philosophy has become one of the defining characteristics of Kids Sea Camp and one of the reasons families return year after year.
Raising the Bar on Safety
If there was one area that received extraordinary attention in 2026, it was safety.
Kids Sea Camp has continued to elevate its standards by recognizing a fundamental truth often overlooked in adventure travel: children are not simply small adults.
According to Peyton, teaching children requires an entirely different educational approach:
“Kids learn differently than adults. Learning happens through repetition, clear instruction, encouragement, and experiences that are paced appropriately for their developmental stage.”
To support this approach, Kids Sea Camp maintains instructor-to-child ratios that far exceed industry norms. Children 12 and under are kept at a maximum ratio of two students to one instructor, allowing for close supervision, constant communication, and individualized support throughout the learning process.
The result is a slower, more nurturing educational environment where young divers can build confidence naturally while parents gain peace of mind knowing their children are receiving exceptional attention both above and below the water.
Strengthening Family Bonds Across Generations
While Kids Sea Camp began as a family diving program, organizers are increasingly seeing participation extend across multiple generations.
Grandparents are joining trips in greater numbers, creating opportunities for entire families to travel, learn, and experience adventure together.
For the Peytons, this trend has been especially meaningful.
The programs are designed to create quality time that is increasingly difficult to find in modern life. Parents spend uninterrupted time with their children. Grandparents share experiences with grandchildren. Entire families create memories through exploration and discovery.
By removing many of the everyday distractions that compete for attention, Kids Sea Camp creates an environment where families can reconnect in authentic ways.
Trading Screens for Real Experiences
One of the most significant transformations Peyton observes happens long before participants enter the water.
Many children arrive accustomed to spending large portions of their day interacting through screens. By the end of a Kids Sea Camp experience, they are often engaging with people, cultures, and environments in ways that feel entirely different, according to Peyton:
“They move from sitting behind a screen to sitting across a table having real conversations.”
Instead of simulated learning environments, children participate in active experiences that require engagement, curiosity, and problem-solving.
Activities range far beyond diving itself, though.
Families may find themselves blow carting across the windswept landscapes of Bonaire, water biking through the jungles of St. Lucia, paddleboarding through calm tropical waters, kayaking coastal environments or even participating in culinary experiences like baking.
These are not algorithm-driven interactions curated by social media feeds. They are intentional experiences shared with real people from around the world.
The result, according to Peyton, is often a broader global perspective and a greater appreciation for life beyond one’s comfort zone.
Children learn how different cultures live, work and interact with the ocean. They develop confidence in unfamiliar situations and learn the value of being fully present in the moment.
Creating the Next Generation of Ocean Storytellers
One area where Kids Sea Camp continues to see remarkable growth is underwater photography.
Peyton notes that today’s young divers are becoming exceptionally talented photographers, often producing images that surprise both instructors and parents.
More importantly, she believes children see the ocean differently:
“Experiencing the ocean through the lens of a child’s perspective is incredible for parents and families.”
To support developing photographers, KSC provides hands-on opportunities using professional-level equipment including Olympus and Nauticam. Young participants learn much more than camera operation. They learn observation, patience and storytelling.
As children begin documenting reef systems and marine life, something else happens naturally: they develop a deeper connection to the environment, where photography becomes a gateway to conservation.
The more closely they observe marine ecosystems, the more they understand the importance of reef protection and stewardship. What begins as a creative exercise often develops into a lifelong appreciation for the ocean and a desire to protect it.
Growing Partnerships in Indonesia
Another major development has been the organization’s work with the Murex properties in Bangka and Manado, Indonesia.
Located within the heart of the Coral Triangle, the region provides some of the most diverse marine environments found anywhere on earth.
For Kids Sea Camp, the partnership creates opportunities for families to experience extraordinary biodiversity while participating in educational programming designed specifically for young divers and multigenerational travelers.
The destinations also provide ideal settings for underwater photography programs, marine life identification, and conservation-focused learning experiences.
A Special New Chapter in Grand Cayman
Looking ahead to 2027, one of the most personal additions to the Kids Sea Camp schedule will be the expansion of programming at Ocean Frontiers in Grand Cayman together with Compass Point Dive Resort.
The project holds special significance for Peyton: Grand Cayman is where her son was born, creating a deeply personal connection to both the destination and the community.
As a result, the partnership is more than simply another location on the calendar. It represents a return to a place that has been part of her family’s story for decades.
The expansion will allow additional families to experience Cayman diving while benefitting from the family-focused atmosphere that has become synonymous with Kids Sea Camp.
Looking Forward
As Kids Sea Camp continues expanding into new destinations and new opportunities, its mission remains rooted in the same principles that helped establish its reputation: safety, education, family connection and a love for the ocean.
From enhanced child-centered instruction and industry-leading safety standards to underwater photography programs and multigenerational dive travel, Margo and Tom Peyton continue to create experiences that go far beyond a typical dive vacation.
Their success is measured not just by the destinations visited or dives logged, but by the confident young divers, stronger family bonds, and future ocean advocates who emerge from every adventure.
And perhaps that is why, after all these years, Kids Sea Camp continues to earn the trust of families around the world and the recognition of the diving community through honors such as the 2027 Scuba Diving Readers Choice Awards.
For the Peytons, the ultimate goal remains unchanged: helping families experience the ocean together, one unforgettable adventure at a time.
Final Thoughts
Having known Margo and Tom Peyton professionally for a number of years, I was first drawn to Kids Sea Campthrough my own passion for education, particularly youth education. Within the dive industry, the overwhelming majority of programs, products and travel experiences are designed around adult learning. Children are often expected to adapt to systems that were never truly built with them in mind.
What has consistently impressed me about Kids Sea Camp is that they recognized this gap long ago and committed themselves to filling it.
Rather than treating children as an afterthought, Kids Sea Camp has built an entire culture around understanding how young people learn, communicate, and develop confidence. Their programs acknowledge that education is not one-size-fits-all. Children require patience, repetition, encouragement, and instructors who understand that success is measured by growth and engagement rather than speed of progression.
Over the years, the Peytons have demonstrated that family dive travel can be more than a vacation. It can be a platform for education, conservation, personal growth and meaningful family connection. Whether introducing a child to underwater photography, helping a young diver gain confidence beneath the surface or creating opportunities for grandparents, parents, and children to experience the world together, Kids Sea Camp continues to set a standard few organizations have been able to match.
In an era when so many young people experience life through a screen, Kids Sea Camp offers something increasingly rare: authentic adventure, real-world learning, and genuine human connection. Children return home not only as better divers, but often as more confident communicators, curious explorers, and passionate advocates for the ocean.
As the organization continues to expand into destinations such as Indonesia and Grand Cayman while further strengthening its commitment to safety, wellness and education, one thing remains clear: Kids Sea Camp is not simply leading family dive travel, it is helping define what the future of youth-focused diving can be.
For families looking to share meaningful experiences underwater, and for an industry seeking to inspire the next generation of divers, ocean stewards and explorers, Margo and Tom Peyton continue to prove why Kids Sea Campremains the benchmark by which others are measured.
For more information go to familydivers.com.
