This Dana Point Oceanarium Holds the Real-Life Sea Creature That Inspired SpongeBob’s “Patrick”

Thomas Smith3 hours ago

DANA POINT, CALIFORNIA – If you’ve ever watched the kid’s show SpongeBob Squarepants (or perhaps seen the SpongeBob movie currently in theatres right now), you’re familiar with the character Patrick.

Lovable, a bit dim witted and always loyal, Patrick is SpongeBob’s best friend.

And it turns out, he was inspired by a real sea creature from a real-life Oceanarium in Dana Point, California.

You can visit the same creature–and even give the real “Patrick” a little pat on the back!

The story of Patrick begins with Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of SpongeBob Squarepants. In 1984, after graduating from college, he was looking for work in marine biology.

Hillenburg got a job at the Orange County Marine Institute. Today, it’s called the Ocean Institute.

While working there, he got to show kids various tidepool creatures, including starfish. He noticed how much they connected with these little ocean animals.

As part of the job, Hillenburg was asked to draw a comic explaining the intertidal zone to kids. His comic featured Bob the Sponge. And in the stroke of a pen, the precursor to SpongeBob was born!

The original Bob the Sponge. Excerpt from Intertidal Zone comic.

Hillenburg had a tough time getting his comic published. Undaunted, Hillenburg changed careers. He went back to school, learned the art of animation, and turned SpongeBob into a cartoon show. The rest is history.

But Hillenburg’s origins at the Ocean Institute continued to inspire him. When creating SpongeBob’s friend Patrick, an Ocean Institute staff member told the Bay Area Telegraph, Hillenburg modeled the starfish on a very specific animal at the Ocean Institute: a Pink Sea Star (likely a Pisaster brevispinus).

Today, the Ocean Institute is thriving. And you can stop by, head to the touch tanks, and find a real-life specimen of the same kind of pink-colored sea star that inspired Hillenburg.

You can even reach in and touch them!

There’s plenty more to do, too. (Ocean Institute hosted my family for a visit–thanks!) You can touch rays and sharks in a different tank.

Or you can spot an eel, the apex predator of California’s reef, and a guy you definitely don’t want to put your fingers near!

You can also just enjoy the outdoor setting, right on the Dana Point coast.

If your kids love SpongeBob–or you simply grew up watching it–the Ocean Institute is an perfect stop in Dana Point.

Your kids will love touching Patrick. And just as Hillenburg originally intended with his first-ever comic, they might just learn something about marine biology in the process!