Animal Exhibits
We believe that hands-on experiences inspire lifelong curiosity about the natural world, and our aquarium gives families the perfect opportunity to meet amazing marine life through immersive exhibits and interactive encounters. Kids can touch, feed, and discover animals they have only ever seen in books!
Are you ready to start your next family adventure? Plan your visit today and experience our incredible Dallas aquarium animal exhibits for yourself.
Freshwater Animals
The lakes, ponds, and rivers that surround the places we live are home to fascinating creatures. Our Freshwater Animals exhibit represents the species of these bodies of water. Discover our Australian rainbows, blind cavefish, and axolotls, and keep your eyes peeled for our Caiman lizards and other new friends.
Stingray Bay
Venture to our outdoor pavilion to visit Stingray Bay, where families can feed and interact with cownose rays in a touch pool. Nearby, you can watch nurse sharks and other fishy friends in the large outdoor shark habitat.
Saltwater Animals
The most unusual creatures live in the ocean’s deepest depths. Families can discover these creatures at our Saltwater Animals exhibit. Visit the Indo-Pacific Reef, meet fish with teeth (yes, teeth!), and say hello to our giant pacific octopus as it lounges in its habitat.
The Shark Habitat
Get ready for an exciting adventure in our Shark Habitat! Watch our sharks swim by, showing off their cool moves as they glide through the water. Whether it’s their speedy twists or big, powerful fins, the sharks at Children’s Aquarium Dallas’ Shark Habitat will wow kids and families alike with their underwater skills.
Visit Our Touch Tank
Bring the family to Children’s Aquarium Dallas’ Touch Tank for a hands-on, hands-wet, interactive experience with horseshoe crabs, sea urchins, and starfish. Kids and adults will both enjoy feeling their unique textures and learning about these cool creatures of the sea.
Animal Ambassadors
At Children’s Aquarium Dallas, our animal ambassadors bring learning to life! These specially trained creatures, alongside our expert staff, offer interactive experiences that allow kids and families to get up close with various species. From reptiles to sea creatures, each ambassador helps teach important lessons about wildlife and conservation in a fun and engaging way. Be on the lookout for opportunities to meet our animal ambassadors during your visit!
Volunteer with Us
Would you like to share your time and talents with our Children’s Aquarium Dallas visitors? Please contact us about opportunities to help create amazing experiences for our visitors.
Animal Adoptions
Give the gift of animal care for birthdays, holidays, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and other special occasions throughout the year.
$65
Adoption and Annual Membership
Choose to adopt a sandbar shark or a beautiful snake to support the marine animals or the reptiles at Children’s Aquarium Dallas. With your adoption, you’ll receive an Annual Pass Member Card, giving your gift recipient an entire year of unlimited admission to Children’s Aquarium Dallas. This gift also includes a plush animal, a Children’s Aquarium Dallas tote bag, and a personalized Certificate of Adoption.
$35
Adoption
With your adoption, you can choose a plush animal — either a sandbar shark or a snake. Your gift recipient will also get a Children’s Aquarium Dallas tote bag and a personalized adoption certificate.
Explore the Animal Exhibits at Children’s Aquarium Dallas
Every exhibit is thoughtfully designed to showcase the beauty and diversity of marine life while making learning fun and engaging for visitors of every age.
As you explore the aquarium, you’ll encounter everything from colorful reef fish and curious amphibians to sleek sharks, playful stingrays, graceful eels, and fascinating reptiles. Educational displays and discussions with our staff will provide interesting facts about each animal’s habitat, diet, behavior, adaptations, and role within its ecosystem so that you can understand how these creatures thrive and your role in caring for them.
Plus, with such a wide variety of species to discover, we guarantee every guest will notice new details every time they visit. This keeps excitement and curiosity brewing!
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Hands-On Aquarium Experiences for Families: Touch Tanks, Stingrays, Sharks, and More
Why just look when you can touch? We believe the best way to learn is by doing. That is why we offer incredible hands-on aquarium experiences for families. Become explorers at our touch tanks and feel the unique textures of ocean life. Or visit our Stingray Bay and Shark Habitat to get up close and personal with friendly sharks and stingrays at our Dallas aquarium.
No matter if you watch stingrays glide gracefully through the water as they swoop in for a snack or observe the ocean’s apex predators swim supreme over their watery kingdom, you can count on the experience being one that your kids talk about for weeks. The face-to-face encounters also help kids learn about ocean conservation and healthy aquatic ecosystems.
Enjoy Interactive Animal Exhibits for Kids of All Ages
Children’s Aquarium Dallas is truly built for everyone. Our interactive animal exhibits have been enjoyed by kids of all ages, including toddlers, school-aged children, teens, and adults!
Let your little ones toddle around, pressing their noses against the glass displays and observing the brilliant colors and movement of the deep blue sea. Your school-aged kids will love touching sea stars and urchins in our touch tanks, while your teens will appreciate the amazing photo ops and stingray and shark encounters.
Families throughout Dallas-Fort Worth have also considered our aquarium as the ultimate family-friendly destination because of our:
- Indoor Setting: Rain or shine, summer heat or winter chill, our indoor animal exhibits keep your family comfortable.
- Manageable Visit Length: A typical visit lasts approximately 1-2 hours. This is the ideal length of time to see everything without causing sensory overload or exhausted meltdowns.
- Family-Friendly Atmosphere: Our wide walkways easily accommodate strollers, and our low-level viewing windows mean toddlers can see everything without being picked up.
- Interactive Design: Every exhibit features hands-on components, buttons to push, or friendly staff to talk to.
Discover Your Favorite Animal Today
Every visit to Children’s Aquarium Dallas is a chance to make a new friend. Will your favorite be a playful stingray, a horseshoe crab, or a colorful reef fish? There is only one way to find out! Grab your tickets and come explore our marine animal exhibits for kids in the DFW area.
We are proud to welcome families, school groups, scouts, and birthday parties of all ages to experience the magic of the ocean firsthand. Fuel your child’s imagination, support wildlife conservation, and create beautiful memories that will last a lifetime today!
