Moody Gardens
Encyclopedia
Moody Gardens is a tourist complex in Galveston
, Texas
. It is owned, through a complex agreement, by the City of Galveston but funded, operated, and supported by the multi-billion dollar Moody Foundation
.
Moody Gardens features three main pyramid
attractions: the Aquarium
, which is one of the largest in the world and holds many species of fish and other sealife; the Rainforest
Pyramid, which contains tropical animals and plants; and the Discovery Pyramid, which focuses on science
-oriented exhibits and activities.
Another major attraction is Palm Beach, a landscaped sandy area with freshwater lagoons offering children's activities. Moody Gardens also has a RideFilm Theater with motion-based pod seating, a 3-D IMAX
theater, a paddlewheel cruise boat, a hotel
and a convention center
.
The complex attracts many local tourists from the city of Houston
and its outlying suburb
s. The owners of Moody Gardens commissioned a landscape design from Geoffrey Jellicoe
. It is described in Gardens of the mind : the genius of Geoffrey Jellicoe by Michael Spens (Antique Collectors Club, 1992).
This pyramid reaches the height of 10 stories, and is colored white with clear glass. It contains the popular bat
caves and Rainforest Rediscovered Exhibit, featuring an ocelot
, coatimundi
s, chevrotain
s, and other rainforest animals on exhibit, as well as two-toed sloth
s and cottontop tamarin
s roaming free-range through the trees. The environment of the pyramid includes crashing waterfalls, massive trees, and wild animals.
The Rainforest was undergoing a major upgrade and enhancement project. The completed Rainforest of the World's Grand Opening and was opened in May 2011. All the animals and some new ones are on display.
The new course was designed by Jacobsen Hardy Golf Course Design and was constructed to keep historical features of the course while improving certain holes and course flow. The par 72 course measures 6,900 yards from the back tees, with 5 sets of tees to accommodate all playing abilities.
Texas°N date=July 2009°W
Galveston, Texas
Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. It is owned, through a complex agreement, by the City of Galveston but funded, operated, and supported by the multi-billion dollar Moody Foundation
Moody Foundation
The Moody Foundation is a charitable foundation incorporated in Texas and based in the island city of Galveston. It was chartered in 1942 by William Lewis Moody, Jr...
.
Moody Gardens features three main pyramid
Pyramid
A pyramid is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge at a single point. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilateral, or any polygon shape, meaning that a pyramid has at least three triangular surfaces...
attractions: the Aquarium
Aquarium
An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...
, which is one of the largest in the world and holds many species of fish and other sealife; the Rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
Pyramid, which contains tropical animals and plants; and the Discovery Pyramid, which focuses on science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
-oriented exhibits and activities.
Another major attraction is Palm Beach, a landscaped sandy area with freshwater lagoons offering children's activities. Moody Gardens also has a RideFilm Theater with motion-based pod seating, a 3-D IMAX
IMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
theater, a paddlewheel cruise boat, a hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
and a convention center
Convention center
A convention center is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typically offer sufficient floor area to accommodate several thousand attendees...
.
The complex attracts many local tourists from the city of Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
and its outlying suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
s. The owners of Moody Gardens commissioned a landscape design from Geoffrey Jellicoe
Geoffrey Jellicoe
Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe was an English landscape architect, garden designer, Architect and author.Jellicoe was born in Chelsea. He studied at the Architectural Association in London in 1919 and won a Rome Scholarship in 1923 which enabled him to research his first book Italian Gardens of the...
. It is described in Gardens of the mind : the genius of Geoffrey Jellicoe by Michael Spens (Antique Collectors Club, 1992).
Aquarium Pyramid
This pyramid is colored blue, and approximates 12 stories high. The massive pools that are contained in this pyramid contain approximately 8,000 species, from fish, invertebrates, mammals, reptiles, and plants. The species represent N. Pacific, S. Pacific, and the edge of the Antarctic and Caribbean regions.Rainforest Pyramid
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
caves and Rainforest Rediscovered Exhibit, featuring an ocelot
Ocelot
The ocelot , pronounced /ˈɒsəˌlɒt/, also known as the dwarf leopard or McKenney's wildcat is a wild cat distributed over South and Central America and Mexico, but has been reported as far north as Texas and in Trinidad, in the Caribbean...
, coatimundi
Coati
Coatis, genera Nasua and Nasuella, also known as the Brazilian aardvark, Mexican tejón, hog-nosed coon, pizotes, crackoons and snookum bears, are members of the raccoon family . They are diurnal mammals native to South America, Central America, and south-western North America...
s, chevrotain
Chevrotain
Chevrotains, also known as mouse deer, are small ungulates that make up the family Tragulidae, the only members of the infraorder Tragulina. There are 10 living species in three genera, but there are also several species only known from fossils...
s, and other rainforest animals on exhibit, as well as two-toed sloth
Two-toed sloth
Choloepus is a genus of mammals of Central and South America, within the family Megalonychidae consisting of two-toed sloths. There are only two species of Choloepus : Linnaeus's Two-toed Sloth and Hoffmann's Two-toed Sloth...
s and cottontop tamarin
Cottontop Tamarin
The cotton-top tamarin , also known as the Pinché tamarin, is a small New World monkey weighing less than 1 lb...
s roaming free-range through the trees. The environment of the pyramid includes crashing waterfalls, massive trees, and wild animals.
The Rainforest was undergoing a major upgrade and enhancement project. The completed Rainforest of the World's Grand Opening and was opened in May 2011. All the animals and some new ones are on display.
Discovery Pyramid
The Discovery Pyramid features traveling exhibits and the ride film (motion simulator). The huge deep magenta colored pyramid current exhibit is, Forgotten Gateway: Coming to America through Galveston.Galveston Island Municipal Golf Course
In 2007 the Moody Foundation signed an agreement with the City of Galveston to completely rebuild the city's municipal golf course. It is scheduled to reopen in June 2008 under the moniker Moody Gardens Golf Course. It is currently undergoing a $17 million comprehensive renovation, including the addition of new turf grass, green complexes, elevations, irrigation, drainage, cart paths, greens and a full clubhouse renovation.The new course was designed by Jacobsen Hardy Golf Course Design and was constructed to keep historical features of the course while improving certain holes and course flow. The par 72 course measures 6,900 yards from the back tees, with 5 sets of tees to accommodate all playing abilities.
Festival of Lights
Each year Moody Gardens holds the Festival of Lights. Moody sets up millions of Christmas lights and dozens of holiday displays for the occasion and has an outdoor ice skating rink.External links
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