New Attractions Coming Soon to Moody Gardens

Moody Gardens in Galveston will soon offer their guests a newly enhanced Aquarium Pyramid Caribbean Exhibit featuring a shipwreck scene, vibrant coral ecosystem and marine life sanctuaries. 

Recently, Moody Gardens offered a sneak peek of improvements made in the Caribbean Exhibit, including The Pride, a 19^th century rum-runner shipwreck replica, loosely based on the vessel sailed by famed Galveston pirate Jean Lafitte. The replica arrived at Moody Gardens in about 75 individual pieces.

“Our diving team spent two days putting together the ship. It really was like working on a puzzle,” said Jake Emmert, Moody Gardens dive safety officer. Each piece arrived labeled and steps were outlined in a manual that divers used to put together the ship. “Each day, we were under water for about seven hours. Cumulatively, divers spent 68.5 hours under water.”

The enhanced exhibit transports guests to the Caribbean with breathtaking views of shallow and deep coral reefs, and the marine life that call them home. New lighting highlights both the vibrant coral ecosystem and the mysterious pelagic communities that mingle throughout the Caribbean Island chain.

Guests are completely immersed as the Caribbean Exhibit showcases the impressive diversity of species present in the closest tropical sea. Sharks, reef fish, snappers, eels, rays and other tropical fish swim overhead as guests walk through the tunnel in this one million-gallon exhibit, giving them the sense of diving in the Caribbean.

Renovations will offer guests a spectacular aquarium experience including a new Gulf of Mexico Oil Rig Exhibit, Mangrove Exhibit, Caribbean Exhibit Touch Tank area and the new Flower Garden Banks Exhibit. Moody Gardens will unveil enhancements made to the Aquarium Pyramid to the public with a grand reveal May 27, just in time for Memorial Day weekend.  The addition of jellyfish and tropical penguins will also be among the surprises for guests upon completion in May 2017 as this renovation further establishes the Aquarium Pyramid as the most diverse aquarium on the Gulf Coast.

Although the completion of these projects and exhibits are a little over two months away,  Moody Gardens still offers a multitude of fun and engaging ways to spend the Spring Break holiday. Moody Gardens is one of the top Texas destinations for families to enjoy a tropical island escape with fun for all on the Gulf Coast! Being one of the top family venues, they have got attractions for just about every interest with a spectacular hotel on their property, casual and fine dining and a premier golf courses right next door!

This season, Moody Gardens is the only venue in Texas showcasing the exhibit Dinosaurs in Motion in the Discovery Pyramid, which allows guests to interact with 14 life-size dinosaurs made of recycled metal. Children and adults alike, will learn about the amazing world of physics through pulley and lever systems. Visit the famous Rainforest Pyramid and say hello to their new twin Pygmy Slow Loris babies who were born just before the holidays! The 10-story exhibit features various rainforest animals from all over the world as well as lush tropical plant life. Visitors can also enjoy the Zip Line, Ropes Course, MG3D and 4D Theaters, Colonel Paddlewheel Boat and the 2016 Thea-Award winning SpongeBob SubPants Adventure attraction.

The Moody Gardens Golf Course is one of the top three golf courses in the Houston area and it offers a one-day all-inclusive package that includes the practice range, green fee, golf cart fee and unlimited food and beverages for just $100.