The Lost Octopotamus Project

Back in 2009, Nico Berry started making lunch notes with poems and drawings to entertain his pre-schooler and classmates. Two favorites were about a lost octopus who slipped out of her leash and a lost hippo who liked eating buttercups. 

In 2022, the hippo and octopus finally found physical form and wandered the public parks of Palo Alto, CA. The wooden cut-out sculptures had folders attached to them which were filled with coloring/activity pages. (which can also be printed directly from here.) They also have an Instagram page @lostoctopotamus where you could also find clues to their locations and track their adventures.

The Lost Octopotamus project was funded through the City of Palo Alto’s ArtLift Microgrants which were available to artists and creatives with the goal of helping the community find connection and joy through the arts and creative outlets. Learn more about ArtLift Microgrants at www.cityofpaloalto.org/publicart.