Moody Gardens

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Moody Gardens
A Titan arum at Moody Gardens
29°16′27″N 94°51′05″W / 29.2741°N 94.8513°W / 29.2741; -94.8513
Location	Galveston, Texas, United States
Land area	242 acres (98 ha)
No. of animals	over 9,000
Annual visitors	2 million per year (open 365 days)
Memberships	Association of Zoos and Aquariums[1]
Owner	City of Galveston, run by Moody Foundation
Website	www.moodygardens.com

Moody Gardens is an educational tourist destination, with a golf course and hotel in Galveston, Texas, which opened in 1986. The non-profit destination, established by The Moody Foundation, [5] uses nature to educate and excite visitors about conservation and wildlife.

Moody Gardens features three main pyramid attractions: the Aquarium Pyramid, which is one of the largest in the region and holds many species of fish and other marine animals; the Rainforest Pyramid, which contains tropical plants, animals, birds, butterflies, reptiles, and a variety of other rainforest animals including free-roaming monkeys and two-toed sloths; and the Discovery Pyramid, which focuses on science-oriented exhibits and activities.

Another major attraction at Moody Gardens is Palm Beach which has white sand imported from Florida.^[2]

The Palm Beach is mainly open in the summer, with a small water park for children, freshwater lagoons, a lazy river, tower slides, a hot tub, ziplines, and a splash pad play area for children. Moody Gardens also had at one time a RideFilm Theater with motion-based pod seating, the MG 3D Theater features the largest screen in the state of Texas, 4D Special FX Theater, paddlewheel cruise boat, a hotel, golf course and a convention center.

One of the highlights of Moody Gardens is the many dynamic uses for its available space. Many local tourists and business travelers from the city of Houston and around the world visit the Gardens yearly. In 2004, the site debuted its expanded facilities which offers roughly 60,000 square feet of space available for exhibition and business purposes [6] .

The owners 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).