Dino Pet

I started growing dinoflagellates in my bedroom in 2011. As my culture of algae expanded, I displayed the “dinos” in many different types of containers from honey bear bottles to any uniquely shaped vessel I could find. Originally, the goal was to create a bio light powered by these bioluminescent plankton. When friends saw my "pet" dinos, they were equally amazed and intrigued. It became obvious that the dinoflagellates were a perfect icebreaker to get people interested in science and biology — we just needed a cool shape to present them in.

The Dino Pet was born from this early experimentation. Growing dinos in my bedroom in San Diego ten years ago led to the formation of a global business (BioPop) that introduced people to dinoflagellates and bioluminescence all around the world.

In 2017, I sold the business to a leading synthetic biology company and left BioPop for a new adventure. Unfortunately, the new company changed directions and closed BioPop in 2019.

Urbz is opening a new chapter to share the amazing world of bioluminescence. We welcome you to explore this fascinating phenomena with us. If you were previously a BioPop customer, welcome to Urbz, purveyors of Nature for your habitat and makers of the Mushlume UFO!