Carp bottle-feeding with elementary kids: Dongtan zoo Artis Theme Park

Artis Theme Park, an indoor animal park in Dongtan, Gyeonggi — an experience-focused ecology education theme park.

We went back to Artis Theme Park, an indoor ecology-experience education theme park in Dongtan, after four years away. Artis isn't a viewing-only indoor zoo — it's an experience-centered ecology education theme park where you can see and touch animals up close and listen to docent explanations. Our kids still remember holding an otter's paw on our last visit; it left that much of an impression.

This time we came back to meet the otters again and try out a range of ecology experiences together.

What kind of place is Artis Theme Park?

Artis Theme Park is an experience-based ecology education space on the 9th floor of Sinyou Mediplaza in Dongtan, Hwaseong. You can prepare food yourself, get up close and touch animals, and listen to docent explanations along the way.

From reptiles and lizards to carp, turtles, guinea pigs, marine creatures, rays, and otters, you can get close to a wide variety of animals and hear about each one's traits and ecology — a theme park where kids learn naturally through hands-on experience. The docent tour program is included in admission, so if you want, you can join the guided explanation alongside your experience. Parking is available in the building, with 3 hours of parking support.

Because of the indoor layout, wheeled equipment can't move around easily, so strollers and wagons aren't allowed inside. There's a storage space near the entrance where you can leave them before entering.

How to enter Artis Theme Park and what it costs

Step off the elevator at Artis Theme Park and you'll see the ticket booth right away.

When you buy a ticket, you get a wristband and a numbered receipt. Entry isn't immediate — you wait until your number is called, so you can look around or get ready in the meantime.

Write your name on the included name sticker while you wait, and your turn comes around quickly.

• Adult (middle school and up) ₩16,900
• Child (24 months and up) ₩18,900
• Toddler (18–23 months) ₩17,500
• Infant (0–17 months) free
• 7-type feeding experience full set ₩6,900 (separate from admission)

On top of admission, buying the ₩6,900 7-type feeding full set lets you do the feeding experiences. For 1 adult and 2 kids visiting with admission plus two full sets, expect around ₩68,500 total. *Actual admission and experience fees may vary depending on when you visit, so check before going.*

You can buy tickets on the spot, but there's also the option to buy in advance through Naver. If you'd rather have your ticket ready before you arrive, try booking ahead on Naver.

Filling the feeding set at the Snack Lab

Once you're inside, the real ecology experience begins.

The first stop was the Snack Lab, where you watch a video explaining what snacks to give each animal, then measure out and fill snack containers according to numbered instructions for each species.

Once the snacks are ready, everyone grabs their container and the real ecology experience starts.

1. Reptiles and lizards

Snack containers in hand, the first creatures we met were reptiles and lizards. Reptiles seem to be trending lately, because the kids were hooked right from the start — a staff explainer even helped them touch a bearded dragon.

2. Carp bottle-feeding, turtles and guinea pigs

Moving on, you meet carp, turtles, and guinea pigs. You feed each animal the snacks you prepared and watch them move up close. For the carp, on top of the food from the Snack Lab, you can add ₩2,500 to try bottle-feeding them.

Our kids wanted to try it, and it turns out carp suck on the bottle with surprising force. The kids found it tiring but fun, and I'd personally say the carp bottle-feeding add-on is worth doing.

3. Doctor fish, starfish and horseshoe crabs

In the third theme area you meet marine creatures like doctor fish, starfish, and horseshoe crabs. It was nice being able to observe up close animals you don't usually get to see.

4. Ray feeding, free every 20 minutes

In the next theme room, you can feed the rays directly. Ray feeding is free, with no extra fee, and runs at set times you can time your visit around. Watching the rays take the food up close was fun for the kids too.

Ray feeding happens at :10, :30, and :50 past every hour, so it's worth checking the schedule in advance and planning around it.

The otter experience, the most popular at Artis Theme Park

Then we headed to meet the otters — what I'd been most looking forward to at Artis.

Our kids still remembered holding an otter's paw four years ago on our last visit. This time, there's a new experience where the otter gives you a stone as a gift. The otter experience costs ₩5,000 per person and lets you feed the otter and touch its paw directly. Watching the otter bring over a stone was especially fun — apparently otters bring anywhere from one to as many as eight stones.

You receive the stone the otter brings as a gift, give it a snack in return, and get to touch its paw. Most of all, being able to meet an otter up close is why I'd recommend the otter experience to anyone visiting Artis.

6. Crab catching and shrimp scooping

At the end, we used the experience and exploration coupon we got on entry for more extras. You can catch crabs or use a net to scoop up shrimp yourself — up to 3 shrimp per person to take home.

If you want, you can take the shrimp you caught home and raise them. We took ours home, and we're still raising them well.

Being able to keep observing and caring for the creatures the kids caught themselves, even after coming home, made this one of the most memorable parts of the whole visit.

The rest area for a break after the feeding tour

After the full round of experiences, there's a rest area at the end to take a break.

There's a small play room and seats where you can have a drink — adults get one free drink, so we made ourselves a cup at the self-serve machine and rested a bit before heading out.

Back at Artis Theme Park with upper-elementary kids: our verdict

Artis Theme Park is a place we visited when our kids were in the lower grades of elementary school, and back then too, the staff explainers pitched their explanations right at the kids' level, easy and fun — that stuck with us.

This time our kids are older, in the upper grades, and while they knew more than before, there was still plenty of new ecology knowledge to learn that they hadn't known.

Unlike a typical indoor zoo where you just look at animals and feed them, being able to hear about each creature's traits and ecology alongside the experience made this a satisfying, educational visit with the kids.

I liked being able to observe a wide variety of creatures up close and prepare their food myself, and since each theme — ray feeding, the otter experience, shrimp scooping — offers something different, the kids stayed engaged and never got bored.

One thing worth knowing before you go: admission doesn't include the feeding experiences. A ticket alone lets you look around, but to actually feed each animal yourself, you need to buy the 7-type feeding full set separately. If you want to properly experience Artis Theme Park, I'd recommend adding the feeding experience too.

A great indoor ecology-experience spot in Dongtan where you and your kids can observe a wide range of creatures and hear about their ecology, no matter the weather outside.