Dongtan indoor aquarium feeding freshwater rays: Artis Theme Park

My kids really love aquariums and watching fish, and they're big fans of just staring at water or trying fishing experiences.

A friend happened to mention there was an aquarium in Dongtan called "Artis Theme Park" where you can actually touch and interact with the animals, so we went right away.

Artis Theme Park hours, ticket prices and parking in Dongtan

• Hours: 11:00–18:00 (closed Tuesdays / open on holidays and Korean holidays too)
• Admission: children special price ₩18,900, adults special price ₩16,900, 7-species feeding pass ₩6,900 per person, etc.
• Other: separate men's/women's restrooms, parking available (3 hours provided), etc.

After parking, my husband had some work to do, so it was just me and the two kids heading into Artis Theme Park.

Axolotl tanks to watch while waiting at the entrance

At Artis Theme Park, you pay first, register for the waitlist, and wait for your turn. While waiting, we watched the axolotls in the tank.

It was the first time I'd seen a place keep so many axolotls in an aquarium — really fascinating! Since there was something to watch right from the entrance, the wait wasn't boring at all.

With entry wristbands on and name tags stuck to our clothes, we finally headed inside. First we watched a safety guidance video, then filled our feeding baskets with food.

Some of the feed included bugs like mealworms, so the staff offered to help in case the kids couldn't pick them up — but my kids happily grabbed them with excitement, haha... They held their feeding baskets tightly and headed off to the first zone.

Touching a bearded dragon in the insect zone

The first stop at Artis Theme Park was the insect zone. We were greeted by the kids' favorite rhinoceros beetles, giant snails, and various snakes, and staff helped us touch a bearded dragon lizard directly.

The kids were amazed that they could feel it breathing through its belly, and my younger one loved lightly touching its back, saying the rough texture was fun.

In the next area, we happily fed the turtles and observed hermit crabs and blue crayfish (procambarus) below. It was my first time seeing a blue-colored crayfish, so it felt really mysterious to me too.

A stamp tour was running alongside the experience, so the kids eagerly searched for stamp stations and stamped away. Knowing there was a small gift for collecting them all made them even more enthusiastic.

Feeding the meerkats, carp and guinea pigs

In the meerkat zone, we used tongs to pick up bugs from the basket and put them through a hole, and the meerkats munched away happily.

We also gave the carp plenty of food, and there was an additional bottle-feeding experience you could try. Every zone had friendly staff stationed to guide us safely, which I really appreciated.

In the guinea pig zone, we fed carrots through a small gap in the glass, so we could enjoy the experience with no worry about accidents. We also made sure to tell the kids that if a carrot fell, it shouldn't be given again because of contamination concerns.

Horseshoe crabs, starfish and doctor fish in the sea creature zone

Now we moved into the main underwater creature area, lit up beautifully in blue. After washing our hands at the sink, I turned around and there was a horseshoe crab.

I once watched a YouTube video from Egg Doctor about traveling overseas to see horseshoe crabs, so I was thrilled to see one here in person. We also made sure to note that the horseshoe crab's tail can be venomous, so touching it isn't allowed.

After searching Jeju Island beaches without ever finding one, I finally got to touch a starfish here, and we also put our hands in the doctor fish zone and enjoyed the ticklish feeling.

Feeding loaches to the freshwater rays

What stuck with me most was the freshwater ray feeding experience. I once fed herring to sea rays on a trip to the US, but the freshwater rays here eat loaches instead. When we gave them the food, they sucked it up like a vacuum cleaner — really fascinating to watch.

We also got to hold a nautilus fossil and observed a variety of other creatures, from arapaima and seals to armadillos, anteaters, and pelicans.

At the budgie cage, we also got to feed the birds, and it was funny to watch one particularly strong budgie chase off the others and hog all the food for itself.

Shrimp and crayfish catching zone and the drawing screen

The last section had a zone where you could actually catch shrimp, hermit crabs, and crayfish.

For my younger one, who couldn't reach even standing on the footstool, the staff kindly caught a crayfish so she could observe it up close. You can take up to 3 shrimp per person, but since it seemed hard to raise them at home, we observed them fully and then gently released them back.

There was also a corner in the middle where you could put a drawing you made up on a screen, so the kids and I each finished one nicely. On the way out, there was also a kids' café space, but since it's only for children 120cm or under, we just took a quick look and headed out.

How long it takes and swapping stamps for a badge

Overall, we spent about 1.5 hours enjoying a wide variety of experiences and observations. If you're also planning to use the kids' café, I'd recommend giving yourselves 2 or more hours.

They also had a well-equipped space for buying snacks and drinks, plus seating for parents to wait!

At the end, we used our tickets to vote for the "Artis mayor," and submitted our carefully collected stamp sheet to trade in for a cute badge, wrapping up a really fun day.

If you're looking for somewhere to take your kids in Dongtan, give Artis Theme Park a try! It's only closed on Tuesdays and stays open even during holiday periods!