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    Updated 2 months ago

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    Recommended Reviews - Ocean Institute

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    Starfish
    Madeleine L.

    Did their tide pool hike. Great event and not too expensive at $18. You will learn about the items you see in the tide pools. Staff were knowledgeable and friendly. Definitely worth it!

    Amanda O.

    Went along with our young niece and nephew, and we had about as much fun as they did. It's not a large place to visit, but it's packed with interesting and exciting exhibits. The staff and employees are all amazing. Fave part was getting to pet a snake. The handler was so friendly and gentle, and handled grabby little kids very well. We went back another time just the two of us for the schooner sail and that is a not to be missed experience. Just bummed we missed the bioluminescence sail as it's only during summer months. But there's always next year!

    Touch tank of sting rays and sharks
    Lily V.

    We wanted to spend some time inside a place near the ocean since my son really enjoys the sea creatures, so we decided to buy tickets for this place and the website said there's lots to do and you can purchase a squid dissection class for an additional cost. First, it's roughly 46$ for two adults and one kid. The place is pretty small, there's two buildings of sea creatures to explore and an auditorium where someone will give a lecture on a whale historically found at Dana point. I'd say this is a great place if you are into touching the sea stars, sharks (small ones), and sting rays in an accessible tank. The squid dissection is a class and scheduled, my son didn't want to go near the display showing how the dissection class might show. It is limited in how many exhibits there are: The touch tanks and other view tanks are in one exhibit building. The squid dissection, microscope slides, snake tank, eel tank, and jellyfishes are in another exhibit. There's a play tunnel of an actual scaled heart of a whale, the kids can go in and out of it. The auditorium has chairs and an actual whale bone hanging of a whale which washed up without its tail. Since my son likes seeing new things, unfortunately, we were not able to keep him entertained for more than 30minutes before he asked to leave to the beach. Overall, it's a nice small entertaining exhibit which you get in and out privileges since you get a wristband but it's not the same as an aquarium experience.

    Shoreline
    Nicole D.

    My son had a 6th grade field trip here and I was lucky enough to be a chaperone. This was hands down one of the coolest field trips! It was entertaining and educational all in one. The kids did activities from a boat ride out to see to seeing the life cycle of a jelly fish to learning what back breaking work it is to work on a ship. They got to raise a sail on The Spirit of Dana Point! The staff are all passionate about what they do and are so patient with the and the million questions they had throughout the day. We even got to hike along the shore and check out tide pools. All in all just a great day at the Ocean Institute!

    Admission pricing
    Mirna E.

    Found this place on a whim. We actually intentes to go to the Marine Life Conservation Center but it was closed! Being a weekend, there wasn't a lot of parking but we managed to get a spot. Spotted a coffee shop at the entry and grabbed a cup of coffee before entering. The cashier at the institute almost ruined the rating here. She didn't bother to ask how old the baby was and proceeded to charge me for 2 children instead of the infant/toddler rate (adults $15, children $7.50, age 0-2 free). She was a bit confrontational too. Anyway, after paying and getting a refund for the child ticket, we put on our wrist bands and were greeted outside by an employee who gave us a rundown of the building and exhibits. Then we walked around the exhibits in the institute. Each station had employees/volunteers sharing information about the experience. We were able to see some fish, starfish, and sea stars. My girls pet the sea stars and sharks. We found a huge whale skeleton that had washed ashore in Laguna that still had some "feet" bones. They had a kid friendly heart replica for kids to play in. They had a few other add on activities but we didn't do them. There was another kid friendly seating play area too. There are restrooms and a gift shop in the building. After exiting this building, you can head across the parking lot towards the "pirate ship." The Spirit of Dana Point actually replaced the precious ship that sank in 2020 that was also coined a "pirate ship." The ship does in fact set sail and they do weekend tours as well as a Pirate Themed sail geared for kids. The crew was super knowledgeable and had lots of info regarding the history of the current and previous ship. You could smell musty wood too as you looked inside the deck from above. Lots of photo ops and my daughter got to ring the bell. After exiting the ship we proceeded to the little maritime museum and saw some cool artifacts and more info about the ship from a history buff volunteer. We learned that a log of volunteers help keep the Spirit of Dana Point alive. Once exiting this time capsule we headed over to the stable next door where we learned about games the pirates played. You could also play the games yourselves but we were hungry so didn't spend time on that. A little mini snack bar was located in this area with candy, drinks, Cracker Jacks and more. Overall, a good experience for families with kids. The pirate ship tour was especially cool for the little ones and my hubby.

    Display of a whale heart
    Lisa B.

    What a fantastic space! You can have weddings here or your corporate events here any kind of private party or you can just go to the Institute and learn about the ocean. They have all sorts of rooms that tell you different things about different sea critters, one of my favorites is the moon jellies! And of course, the petting area where you can pet sharks and manta rays is always fun! On this particular night, I signed up to do the "sharks after dark" event where they do a shark feeding....I thought it was great! I can't wait to find other events to get involved with

    Stephanie D.

    Went here last night for the sharks after dark event. I thought it was going to be something different or an add on of the main normal displays but it wasn't. It was just open later in the evening. There's a couple buildings and the whole display tanks are kind of small but it was cool the kids got to touch the sharks and sting rays in the touch tanks. We went through the whole area in about 30 minutes and it was quite pricey too. But the kids liked it and there was a food truck and some live music which was fun. It's more of a one and done place, but the atmosphere is nice if you don't have kids to run around with.

    Joel J.

    Cool place. Provides education and history of Dan Point for students and adults about basic things ocean. It's always been a chill and friendly vibe

    Serene A.

    Small but filled with lots of knowledge! It was a great place to visit for those who like to learn about the ocean and touch some aquatic life. They also had an area with snakes and we also attended a talk about one of them and got to touch a snake!

    Priscilla K.

    We stopped by here briefly and had our little breakfast before walking over to the dana point caves. Such a cute & educational place, especially for kids! As they say, experience is the best teacher! They have tours, little areas to explore and play with animal sculptures in a small playground. Had we known about the big waves by the caves, I think we would've stayed longer; except, we would've missed out on these phenomenal views! Basically, I had to be carried most of the time so I wouldn't get as splashed but the entire saga was just so much fun and created great mems ;)

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    1 month ago

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    10 months ago

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    8 months ago

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    11 months ago

    Cute place to take the kids, and take a cruise to watch whales or dolphins. The beach is nice. Also a great vendor for school field trips!

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    9 months ago

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    3 years ago

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    1 year ago

    We love the ocean Institute! My kiddos always get a kick out of all the things. Everyone who works here is also super helpful and sweet.

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    5 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Great place to take a little one! Love seeing the sea animals and plus it's right on the beach

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Great for hands on with sea creatures. Lovely gift shop as well. Very interesting privateer ship to explore. Wonderful for kids.

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    3 years ago

    Everything was great! I took six of our grandchildren and they loved it. So much to see and do.

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    Ask the Community - Ocean Institute

    Can I bring a stroller or wagon?

    Hi, You can take a stroller or wagon for the toddlers around multiple areas on site but our… Read more

    Is there anything to do here with a 2 year old?

    Yes if your 2 year old likes sea creatures. There is a little play area and a touch tank.

    View All 5 Questions

    Review Highlights - Ocean Institute

    They are 5 and 9 respectively, I signed up for the squid dissection and sea star feeding.

    Mentioned in 8 reviews

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