Explore and Learn At Pacific Marine Mammal Center!

The Pacific Marine Mammal Center, located in Laguna Beach, rescues and rehabilitates stranded sea animals such as sea lions and seals. Most of the stranded sea life they help are generally found along the beaches of Orange County. We made a visit to the Center, and loved learning about their rehabilitation efforts.

Non-Profit Organization Formed In 1971

The Pacific Marine Mammal Center is a non-profit organization, formed in 1971. They do their best to rehabilitate and return the animals they rescue back to the their natural habitat. They’ve cared for countless marine mammals over the years.

Free Parking and No Cost To Visit

There’s no fee to visit the Pacific Marine Mammal Center, which is open to the public from 10am-4pm daily, except Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Years Day. They have a parking lot with free parking next to the Laguna Beach Animal Shelter. The Center is just steps past the shelter.

Lots of Volunteers

The facility has a HUGE amount of volunteers! Some volunteers help care for the animals, others are docents that help visitors, and the on-site gift shop is also run by volunteers. The amount of volunteers varies both by season, and by the amount of sea life in their care. They generally have more rescues during the late Winter and early Spring, and need more volunteers at this time.

Very Educational

There are several informational boards inside the Visitor Yard of the Center with details about different sea animals that they rescue. Docents are also available to share details about the animals in their care, and to answer questions. We found the docents to be very friendly and helpful! We left knowing a lot more than we did about rescued sea life than when we arrived.

Separate Areas For Rehabilitation

The rescued animals at Pacific Marine Mammal Center are separated by size during their rehabilitation. Some animals come to the Center so emaciated that they need to be tube fed. There are quite a few different pools that the animals move to as they progress. It was neat seeing them interact with one another in their different areas.

In-House Educational Programs & Camps

The Center offers a variety of educational programs for both kids and adults. Programs and camps include Mommy & Me Classes, school-age programs, an after-school program, and Scout programs. Adult programs and corporate presentations are offered as well.

Donations Graciously Accepted

The Pacific Marine Mammal Center accepts monetary donations, donations of goods from their Wish List, sponsorships, and of course, the donation of time. You can also support the Center by purchasing a Membership. Since they’re a non-profit, they can use all the help they can get!

We found the Pacific Marine Mammal Center to be a neat and educational place to visit. You can find more information about the Center on their website at www.pacificmmc.org. We’ll be returning for another visit soon. Perhaps we’ll see you there!

P.S. Here’s a video we made about Pacific Marine Mammal Center.