Education and experience
ARTIS exists for the public: they are the raison d’être and ultimately drive all that ARTIS does. The more people feel encouraged and inspired to care for the environment, the better. ARTIS achieves the greatest possible positive impact on the environment in collaboration with its visitors, creating wonder and awareness and providing opportunities for people to take action.
- ARTIS is a cross-section of the world we live in – It is the only space where people, animals, plants, trees, microbes, stars and heritage all come together. Visitors are introduced to a broad view of diversity: from large mammals, beasts of prey, fish and microbes to the Insectarium and the Butterfly Pavilion.
- ARTIS is a green oasis in the city – A beautiful and relaxing environment offering a world of discovery to all visitors. It can be experienced close up, through all the senses. This emotional connection is essential, since we care most for the things we love.
- ARTIS is the European hub of Planetary Health – From 2023 onward, ARTIS will devote ongoing attention to the international Planetary Health movement, which encourages citizens, science, government and industry alike to generate solutions to the challenges faced by our society and our planet.
- ARTIS creates awareness and perspective for action – ARTIS continually investigates the impact of its educational activities. The first impact study commenced in 2022 in the Planetarium, in collaboration with Utrecht University.
- The Planetarium will be fully renovated by 2030 – Equipped with the latest data-to-dome technology, the Planetarium is the ARTIS location where visitors can not only view our vulnerable planet from space but also learn about what they themselves can do to help. The latest data-to-dome technology enables the real-time visualisation of the impact of human activity on Earth.
- ARTIS organises daily programmes that are accessible to all - These include in-depth and introductory programmes on subjects ranging from microbiology to ecology and from astronomy to art history. They are offered as public activities or educational or Academy programmes, for a target audience ranging from primary-school children to university students, at ARTIS and even beyond.
- ARTIS-Academie is known among a wide target audience for its diverse range of programmes – In this context, the Groote Museum functions as the ‘clubhouse’. However, other programmes are also run at the park, at Micropia and in the Planetarium.
- New area will open in 2030 – Micropia, the Groote Museum and the edible garden already give visitors an impression of the ‘food of tomorrow.’ Ultimately, ARTIS aims to take the story about food and its impact on our world one step further in the park. In a new area, visitors will wonder at the nourishment offered by nature and the importance of sustainable food chains.
- Visitor experience is at the heart of ARTIS – Storytelling is the most powerful way to touch people's hearts, to foster a change in perspective and to encourage visitors to take personal responsibility for the environment. In this sense, all ARTIS staff contribute to the visitor experience. ARTIS also employs over three hundred volunteers, a number that will only increase as we approach 2030.