Budgie feeding and an otter's stone gift: Dongtan zoo Artis Theme Park

Looking for somewhere to go with a baby in Dongtan that isn't just the usual rabbit-feeding experience? We visited Artis Theme Park, an indoor zoo in Dongtan with a different kind of animal feeding — stingray feeding, otter snack feeding, and more.

Where is Artis Theme Park in Dongtan, and what does it cost?

Artis Theme Park, Dongtan / 9F Sinyoo Medi Plaza, 10 Dongtan-daero 19-gil, Dongtan-gu, Hwaseong-si / Hours: weekdays 13:00–19:00, weekends 12:00–19:00 / Closed Tuesdays / Adult discount ₩16,900, child discount ₩18,900, free under 18 months

Artis Theme Park isn't just an indoor zoo or aquarium — it's a hands-on ecological learning space where you see and interact with animals directly. The 10-ticket discount SET costs ₩15,900 per person, the lowest price nationwide, is usable the same day, and comes as a paper ticket you can gift to someone.

First stop: packing your own animal feed box

Not just watching — experiencing. At this Dongtan indoor zoo that gives kids special memories, you make your own animal feed lunchbox before meeting the animals. Watch the Artis explainer video and you're ready to go.

Insect encounters and the sand play area in the reptile hall

In the reptile hall at Artis Theme Park, you can freely touch and interact with rhinoceros beetle larvae, pill bugs, snails, and more. Some insects need staff help to interact with — if no one's around, just press the call bell and they appear.

Inside the reptile hall, the sand play area turns into mountains or oceans depending on how the sand is shaped. We lingered here for quite a while too.

Carp, mongoose and guinea pig feeding zones

The carp feeding zone has big carp and small fish living together. They notice as soon as people walk by and swarm over, expecting food. The babies get just as excited watching the greedy carp. You can meet turtle friends here too.

The striped mongoose gets mealworms as its number-6 snack, and our sparkle held it right in her hand to feed it. Haha, so brave and bold — no holding hands until she washes up.

In the carrot feeding zone you'll find guinea pigs and lop-eared rabbits. Kids who've met these friends at other indoor zoos before still have fun feeding them carrots here. Push a carrot through the hole and the guinea pigs all rush to grab it first.

Stingray feeding and the seals in the aquarium

The Dongtan aquarium section at Artis Theme Park has even more varied experiences waiting — you can directly touch doctor fish, starfish, and shark eggs.

Stingray feeding is also available. Toss in a loach and the ray glides right over to eat it. Even as a mom, the stingray feeding experience is a novelty every time.

We were a bit disappointed to learn seal feeding isn't running for now — but a seal friend kept swimming over to the kids anyway, showing off its impressive swimming skills. The babies got so excited saying hi — isn't that adorable?

Otter snack feeding: the paid experience where the otter gives you a stone

The paid experiences — armadillo feeding and otter snack feeding — are special, one-of-a-kind activities you can only do at Artis Theme Park in Dongtan. Definitely worth trying.

Hand the otter a snack and it gives you a pretty stone in return — our sparkle got four stones this time! You get to pick the prettiest one to take home. We're now on our third stone we're 'raising' at home… haha.

Budgie feeding and the 2:00 PM pelican feeding time

We also had a feeding session with the pretty lorikeets. Our sparkle usually gets startled when birds swarm all at once, but here they come one by one and perch nicely to eat, which she really loved.

You can also meet the pelican with its enormous beak. At the pelican's feeding time at 2 PM, you can watch it swallow a fish whole in one gulp.

Crayfish catching, taking a shrimp home and the stamp tour

True to its hands-on theme park concept, there's even more to experience now. You can catch and touch crayfish directly, and even take home small shrimp you've caught! Artis Theme Park in Dongtan keeps renewing and changing, which made me think we should keep coming back.

The stamp tour stations scattered around the place are now second nature — she stamps her way through on her own. Fill up all the stamps and you get a badge.

After finishing the indoor zoo and aquarium experience in Dongtan, burn off any leftover energy at the small kids' café inside Artis Theme Park. There's a chameleon living there too, so don't forget to check it out!