Here at the Sea Otter Fund, we’re otterly excited about LEGO’s new Floating Otter set (21366), released on March 1 — it’s fun to build, adorable to display and true to nature! We’ve teamed up with the Fan Designer, Maximilian Lambrecht, the creative mind behind the design, and are thrilled to announce the Sea Otter Naming Contest. Let’s turn your passion for LEGO into a lifeline for real sea otters along the California coast!
The LEGO sea otter set gives builders and creators everywhere a chance to play a real role in sea otter conservation. A mother sea otter floats with her pup stretched out on her belly, complete with kelp, a clam, and plenty of charm. This adorable set captures something special: the joy, the tenderness, and the hope associated with these remarkable animals coming back from the brink of extinction. And now, as you click together your Floating Otters, you can join sea otter conservationists in rebuilding a home for sea otters along the coast, piece by piece.
And every piece tells a story, one that stretches back centuries, to a time when sea otters played across the Pacific coast. Sea otters once thrived from Japan to Mexico, but the maritime fur trade of the 1700s and 1800s nearly wiped them out. Since they were protected in the early 1900s, sea otters have returned across much of their range, but there is still an 800-mile gap between central California and northern Washington in the U.S. where sea otters are still missing. The Wildlife Conservation Network’s Sea Otter Fund supports conservationists, Tribes, government agencies, and community leaders who are working to change that—helping recover sea otters in places where they haven’t lived in over a century.
Like building a LEGO set, restoring sea otters to their historic range takes patience, creativity, and teamwork. Each piece of the puzzle—habitat research, community partnership, management planning—fits together to rebuild a thriving coastal ecosystem one step at a time.
As you snap together your Floating Sea Otters, take a moment to appreciate the details that make this set so wonderfully accurate. In the wild, mothers really do carry their pups on their bellies just like the model shows. Sea otters eat almost constantly—about 25% of their body weight daily—munching on shellfish, crabs, and clams like the one included in the kit. They rest and wrap themselves in kelp to keep from drifting away, and yes, they sometimes even hold hands while they float. Those lifelike touches make it the perfect display piece—and a great conversation starter about the real-life otters it represents.
Just as LEGO Ideas fans voted to bring the Floating Sea Otters set to life, you can “vote” again—this time to help sea otters return to the wild. Every donation to the Sea Otter Fund supports the people and partnerships working to restore these playful animals to their coastal homes.
Join the Sea Otter Naming Contest! Wildlife Conservation Network has partnered with Maximilian Lambrecht, the LEGO Fan Designer behind the Floating Sea Otters set, to launch a one-of-a-kind conservation campaign. Name your sea otter, share your creativity, and help bring real otters home.
Here’s how you can turn your build into action:
Step1: Get creative with the Floating Sea Otters Set — in-store, at home, or digitally
Step2: Learn about sea otters from the Sea Otter Fund and our partners. Give your sea otter a unique name
Step3: Post with #NameYourLegoOtter & follow @wildnetorg on social media. We’ve extended the contest window to May 3rd — more time to get creative!
Step4: Donate $21.36 to the Sea Otter Fund to complete your entry by May 3rd..
How to Enter: Get creative! Snap a selfie with the Sea Otter LEGO Set in-store, film a build reel at home, or use digital tools to bring your sea otter’s name to life. However you choose to participate, we want to see your imagination at work — just make sure your entry creatively presents the set and your chosen sea otter name. And don’t forget to make a $21.36 donation to the Sea Otter Fund to complete your entry by May 3rd! Every dollar goes directly toward protecting sea otters in the wild.
The Prize: Maximilian Lambrecht and WCN will select the three most creative sea otter names. Each winner receives a Sea Otter Expedition experience along the California coast in the Bay Area OR a sea otter care package from WCN. (Travel and accommodations are the responsibility of the winner.) The contest runs for one month — don’t wait!
Follow the campaign: #NameYourLegoOtter | @wildnetorg Learn more and donate at wildnet.org/sea-otter-fund
Every time you admire your creative work, you can know you’ve helped real otters float again along our coasts. Together, brick by brick and otter by otter, we can help bring back a key piece of our coastal ecosystems.
UPDATE on May 27, 2026
#NameYourLegoOtter Contest Winners Announced — Just in Time for World Otter Day
Today, on World Otter Day, we’re thrilled to announce the winners of the #NameYourLegoOtter contest. After reviewing all entries, we identified two eligible winners whose creativity and commitment to sea otter recovery stood out.
The winners are participants with the following social media handles:
@kinerkat, who named their otter The Codfather
@n.ladwig, who named their otter Bubbles
Both names made us smile and reminded us why this campaign matters. Behind every playful name is a real person choosing to show up for sea otters.
Each winner will choose between a Sea Otter Expedition on the Elkhorn Slough in Moss Landing, California, joining Dr. Jen Miller, Senior Manager of Sea Otter Fund, on an electric catamaran to see sea otters up close OR a Sea Otter Care Package with a plushie, stickers, a WCN hat, and educational materials.
Thank you to everyone who participated. Sea otters are coming back to the Pacific Coast, and this community is part of why.