Dino Pet: Your Bioluminescent Dinosaur

Without doubt, biopop’s Dino Pet is one of the coolest products you’re going to see all year. Is it a toy? Is it a pet? Is it art? Science? What is this thing?!

Well, yes, it’s all of those things and more. The Dino Pet is a micro-aquarium filled with living phytoplankton, the kind that glow when you swoosh them around, called dinoflagellates. Dinoflagellates, like fireflies, have the ability to bioluminesce. Except unlike fireflies, dinoflagellates are single-celled organisms, too tiny to see with the naked eye. That’s why when you swoosh the water inside the Dino Pet, it looks like magic is making it glow.

The dinoflagalletes are essentially plants, and they feed on sunlight and nutrients in the water, so it is important the Dino Pet be left where it can get enough light. The Dino Pet also comes with food for the organisms and instructions on how to keep them healthy and glowing.

The Dino Pet // A Living, Bioluminescent Dinosaur from BioPop on Vimeo.

Although it’s pretty cool for adults, the Dino Pet is perfect for children. It is a great starter pet, easy to take care of, non-toxic and gives proof of being cared for properly (it glows brighter). In addition, it helps teach kids about science and biology.

All that and it comes in a cool, Apatosaurus-shaped aquarium. The phytoplankton have a lifespan of one to three months, but with proper care and by adding nutrients, they can be kept alive indefinitely. Biopop also sells extra nutrients for the tiny, glowy guys. The Dino Pet is priced at $60.

So yea, it’s a pet. But it’s also art and science. And, biopop, points out, it’s a biological magic trick, conversation starter and contemporary living art piece.

Pretty cool.