Children's Aquarium Dallas at Fair Park — Attraction in Dallas

Exceptional Experience at Dallas Children’s Aquarium!

Our visit to the Dallas Children’s Aquarium was absolutely delightful, thanks to the incredible staff and thoughtfully designed exhibits. We arrived at 10 a.m. on a mellow Thursday morning, and it was the perfect time to enjoy a relaxed and educational experience.

A special shoutout to Star, Summer, and Remy, who went above and beyond to make our visit unforgettable: • Star introduced us to the fascinating sight of fish jumping to eat. Her enthusiasm made learning so fun! • Remy guided us through an incredible stingray encounter. We purchased two pieces of clam, and my 3-year-old daughter had the joy of feeding and touching the stingrays. The excitement was worth the water splashes—bring a backup shirt for your little ones! • Summer charmed us with her knowledge, showing us the fish tank where tiny fish give playful “kisses” when you put your hand in. Such a unique and interactive experience! Garra rufa!

The educational opportunities were endless. We loved the peaceful ambiance, and the back area with blacklight decorations and tanks was perfect for creativity. Great for sensory kids! My daughter enjoyed the provided coloring activities while surrounded by a glowing underwater world.

As a mom who has visited countless zoos and aquariums, I was blown away by the unique sea creatures here, especially the very large pufferfish, 3 leafy seahorses, and the alligator snapping turtle. They’re rare finds you don’t just see everywhere!

The outdoor aquarium area was another highlight, and we captured adorable photos with the giant octopus statue in front and the vibrant chameleon display inside. For just $25 for both of us, it was an affordable, hands-on homeschool field trip.

Don’t skip the gift shop! We grabbed a small memento to support this wonderful establishment and its mission to care for marine life.

Thank you to the team at Dallas Children’s Aquarium for such a fun, educational, and memorable day. We’ll...

My visit to the Dallas Children’s Aquarium was a much-needed positive experience after a disappointing one at the Dallas World Aquarium. As someone who loves marine wildlife, I found this place to be exactly what I was looking for.

Honestly, with a name like "Children's Aquarium," I didn't expect much, but I'm so glad we gave it a chance. At half the price of the Dallas World Aquarium, this place is far superior. It's an older facility and much smaller—about 11,000 square feet compared to DWA's 86,000—and you won't find penguins or seals here. But for us, that was just fine. After all, what's the point of having 86,000 square feet of space when it's so crowded you can't even get a clear look at the exhibits?

Tickets were a reasonable $15 per person, and the experience felt like a genuine aquarium. Unlike the other place, the exhibits actually had clear informational signage. The tanks were clean, the lighting was good, and all the fish looked healthy and active. While the tanks are on the smaller side, there's still a great variety of marine life to see. Being from Chicago, the exhibits are very similar to the Shedd's.

The ray touch tank was great; it was well-designed to allow the animals to move away from guests. We also enjoyed the larger animals, like the loggerhead turtle with its special buoyancy vest, as well as the zebra, black-tipped reef, and bonnethead sharks.

My only minor criticism is the lack of staff or experts on the floor to answer questions. We were hoping for more in-depth information about the animals from someone knowledgeable but again, a minor criticism.

Overall, this was exactly the reset we needed. Small but well-kept, calm, affordable, and is actually an aquarium.

• Adjust your expectations*

This is NOT the Baltimore Aquarium, but it is a simple, enjoyable place to appreciate...

We came for a visit to the Childrens’s Aquarium and parking was free. We still had to go through the gate where they were taking money but once we told them our destination they pointed us to the correct lot. It was right across from the Texas Discovery Gardens.

The Aquarium costed $40 for two adults and one child, so we weren’t sure what to expect since that is half less than what the Dallas aquarium charges. We were actually really impressed! There was a pond of “doctor fish” who eat your dead skin and tickle while in the process! My little loved those the most. There was an alligator turtle which was HUGE, we didn’t expect it to be so massive. Oh! There were moonjellies and seahorses, lionfish, eels, pufferfish, and stingrays! So many colorful and interesting sea life animals.

When you enter the building and veer to the left, there is a coloring station for children to create their own sea animal. And when they finish they can scan it and have it virtually swim with other childrens’ sea animals, it was so cool. The perfect touch to engage littles.

We walked to the back of the building which lead outdoors to a stingray exhibit where there were also sharks swimming around! It was amazing to see these animals in person. We also got to pet the stingrays, they were like puppies just begging for a good petting. The most adorable thing I’ve experienced! There is a hand washing station to rinse before touching them.

I noticed there is a birthday room if you want to host a party. And also a gift shop! We enjoyed our family...