Moody Gardens Teaching Teachers: Educator Programs Part 1

January 22nd, 2013

teachers part 1 On February 2, 2013, Moody Gardens will be hosting our 16th Annual Educator Open House. At the open house, you can learn what Moody Gardens and other Galveston-area attractions have to offer educators and their students.

 

All educators and school support staff are invited and encouraged to participate in the fun and informational event. You can join us just for the excitement and knowledge, but also have the option to earn up to 4 State Board of Educator Certification (SBEC) hours.

 

This year, you must pre-register for the event, which you can easily do here.

 

By registering and participating in the 16th Annual Educator Open House, you will:

  • Receive free admission into all Moody Gardens attractions with your school ID
  • Be entered into a drawing for the chance to win a variety of door prizes, field trips, and workshops
  • Receive a tote bag and a free box lunch if you are one of the first 1,000 participants
  • Learn more about the volunteer programs and opportunities at Moody Gardens
  • Gather free educational materials while they last
  • Receive activity ideas to use in your own classroom
  • Learn about other educational programs available from other Galveston-area attractions

 

If your family members want to join in on they fun, they can purchase a day pass for only $21.00 a person.

 

Be sure to sign up for our Pyramid Educator Newsletter to receive information and updates on new programs and special educator events. Simply email pswiftbrooks@moodygardens.com to sign up.

 

When registering, be sure to provide school employment identification. For any more questions, call 409-683-4231 or email at pswiftbrooks@moodygardens.com. We look forward to hearing from you soon and seeing you at the 16th Annual Educator Open House.

 

Be sure to check out the Aquarium Pyramid and Rainforest Pyramid during your visit. If you need a place to stay, check out the Moody Gardens Hotel, one of the best places to stay in Galveston.

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Adopt a Moody Gardens Animal

January 21st, 2013

200351967-001By adopting a Moody Gardens Animal, you don’t get to take the exotic creatures home with you, but you do get to contribute to providing them with a quality life. Moody Gardens is home to over 5,500 animals, and it costs over $150,000 to feed all of them each year.

 

By becoming an adoptive parent, you are helping to contribute to the cost of food, care, habitat improvements, and animal enrichment.

 

The following animals are available for adoption:

 

Aquarium Pyramid

 

  • Weedy Sea Dragon
  • Harbor Seal
  • Brown Shark
  • Sand Tiger Shark
  • Barracuda
  • False Clownfish
  • Blue Tang
  • Dogface Pufferfish
  • Yellow Tang
  • Bahamas Starfish
  • Raccoon Butterflyfish
  • Peppermint Cleaner Shrimp
  • Blacktip Reef Shark
  • French Angelfish
  • Queen Triggerfish
  • Southern Stingray
  • Cownose Stingray
  • White Spotted Bamboo Shark
  • King Penguin
  • Chinstrap Penguin
  • Rockhopper Penguin
  • Gentoo Penguin
  • Macaroni Penguin
  • Northern Fur Seal

 

Rainforest Pyramid

 

  • Military Macaw
  • White-face Saki Monkey
  • Giant River Otter
  • Pink Pigeon
  • Cottontop Tamarin
  • Pygmy Slow Loris
  • Arapaima
  • Lake Victoria Cichlids
  • Red Bellied Piranha
  • Prehensile Tail Porcupine
  • Blue Hyancith Macaw
  • Scarlet Macaw
  • Green Anaconda
  • Green Basilisk

 

When you become a part of the Adopt-An-Animal program at Moody Gardens, you receive a personalized certificate of adoption, 5×7 color photographs, and an animal fact sheet. However, with a higher-level adoption package you will receive even more benefits.

 

The following are the available adoption packages:

 

Level I – $35.00

  • Certificate of Adoption – personalized
  • 5×7 Photograph
  • Fact Sheet
  • Recognition on “Adoptive Parents” board

Level II – $75.00

  • All Level I benefits
  • Father’s Day and/or Mother’s Day card
  • 2 Aquarium Pyramid or 2 Rainforest Pyramid Tickets

Level III – $100.00

  • All Level II benefits
  • Name on Adoptive Parent Web Board
  • Invitation to Adoptive Parent Event (+1 guest)

Level IV – $200.00

  • All Level III benefits
  • 2 Aquarium Pyramid or 2 Rainforest Pyramid Tickets
  • Guided tour of Rainforest Pyramid or Aquarium Pyramid for 2

 

Call the Adopt-an-Animal hotline at 1-800-582-4673, ext. 4325 or email us at adopt@moodygardens.com to learn more. You can also start filling out your adoption application here.

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Why Should You Make Moody Gardens Your Next Family Vacation?

January 18th, 2013

200361162-001Make your next family vacation a Moody Gardens vacation! At Moody Gardens we have your whole trip covered, from the entertainment, the relaxation, and a place to stay. Our attractions are fun, educational, and appropriate for everyone in the family.

 

Family Friendly Accommodations

The Moody Gardens Hotel is accommodating for the entire family. We have a great selection of rooms and suites to provide your family with a comfortable place to rest your heads at night. The kids can enjoy the complimentary fun of Kid’s Crew while parents visit the Spa at Moody Gardens for a relaxing couple’s massage!

 

Dining Options

When you stay at the Moody Gardens Hotel, your kids get to eat free at the Terrace Restaurant, which has the best shrimp gumbo in Galveston. For a more formal dinner experience, taste the famous entrées at Shearn’s Restaurant prepared by Galveston’s most-celebrated chef, Executive Chef Urs Schmid.

 

Fun and Educational

The attractions at Moody Gardens are not only tons of fun, but they are also educational. When venturing through the Aquarium Pyramid, you and your family learn all about the penguins, seals, and other sea creatures. You can even get a personal experience with the penguins through the Penguin Encounter program. Other educational yet exciting attractions are the Rainforest Pyramid and Discovery Museum.

 

Location

Moody Gardens is located on Galveston Island, one of the more-popular vacation destinations in Texas. Situated right on the Gulf of Mexico, when you stay at Moody Gardens Hotel, you experience all that Galveston has to offer.

 

Start planning your next family weekend getaway in Texas at Moody Gardens! Once you plan your vacation with us, you’ll realize why we are one of the best places to stay in Galveston. You look forward to seeing you soon!

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Moody Gardens Special People’s Ball 2013

January 17th, 2013

146720310Each year Moody Gardens loves to throw a Mardi Gras ball! However, our ball is a little different from the popular Mardi Gras celebrations around the world. The Moody Gardens Special People’s Ball is a unique celebration for people with special needs, their caregivers, and their immediate family. The Moody Gardens Mardi Gras ball provides the opportunity for people with disabilities to be a part of the Mardi Gras celebrations in a safe and exciting environment.

 

The 27th Annual Mardi Gras Ball for Special People will be on Sunday, February 10, 2013. This fun-packed event includes activities such as:

  • Arts and crafts
  • Face painting
  • Costume characters
  • Mardi Gras beads
  • Costume and dance contests
  • Food and refreshments
  • Pictures
  • Live music

 

For this year’s ball, Moody Gardens will be having the hit cover band Space Monkey entertaining the crowd! Space Monkey offers a wide range of music so there is something for everyone to enjoy. This year we will also have Gazer the Star and Cosmo the Moon from the Space Center Houston joining the festivities.

 

The Caring Clowns from the University of Texas Medical Branch will be at the ball making balloon hats and animals, and Ronald McDonald will make an appearance!

 

Admission is free for attendees with special needs, their immediate family, and caregivers. However, reservations are required and can be made here.

 

If you are looking into attending with a group home, please note that attendees will need to wear an ID with their name and organization.

 

We are also looking for wonderful and caring people to help us out with this great event! For more information on volunteering for the Mardi Gras Ball for Special People, contact us at 469-683-4108 or volunteers@moodygardens.com.

 

If you are joining us for the ball from out of town, be sure to check out the Moody Gardens Hotel for one of the best places to stay in Galveston. Don’t forget to explore the Aquarium Pyramid and Rainforest Pyramid while you’re visiting!

 

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Moody Gardens Offers Year-Round Fun

January 16th, 2013

Screen Shot 2013-01-09 at 4.57.21 PMAt Moody Gardens, we are not a seasonal attraction that is only open certain times of the year. The fun here is nonstop and year-round! While we do have seasonal attractions, such as Palm Beach and Festival of Lights, we also have our popular Aquarium Pyramid and Rainforest Pyramid, and tons of events each month.

 

If you do happen to come during the winter or summer seasons, you can’t miss the Festival of Lights or Palm Beach. The Festival of Lights includes over 1 million holiday lights, and is the largest holiday lights festival in the area! Palm Beach opens in the summer, providing guests and island residents with Galveston’s only white sand beach!

 

Year- round attractions you can’t miss include:

  • Aquarium Pyramid
  • Penguin Encounter
  • Rainforest Pyramid
  • Discovery Museum
  • Colonel Paddlewheel Boat

 

Moody Gardens also offers three different theaters that provide unique cinematic experiences. Catch your next film at the Moody Gardens 3D Theater, Ridefilm Theater, or the 4D Special FX Theater.  Each theatre provides a different kind of experience, from a regular 3D viewing to a ride featuring a 180-degree wraparound screen!

 

Be sure to stay up to date with our Calendar of Events. Each month we have Birding 101 and Birding 201. These free classes are designed to teach visitors about the variety of bird life living on Galveston Island. The classes are presented by Moody Gardens and Galveston Island Nature Tourism Council and available twice a month.

 

We also offer Pyramid Camp for kids each month, with a variety of different themes. Sign your kids up for Pyramid Kids Camp: Catch Me If You Can in February or Pyramid Kids Camp: Primate Palooza in April!

 

Learn more about the fun at Moody Gardens by exploring our website.

 

If you’re looking for family weekend getaways in Texas, book your next trip at the Moody Gardens Hotel. We look forward to seeing you soon.

 

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A Look at the Moody Gardens Outreach Program

January 15th, 2013

outreachAre you an educator or parent interested in helping your kids learn more about the rainforest? If you can’t make it out here for a field trip, but still want to bring the knowledge and excitement of Moody Gardens to your students, you may be interested in our Outreach Program.

 

The Outreach Program presents the Rainforest Roadshow! During the Rainforest Roadshow, a Moody Gardens rainforest expert will bring the wonder and beauty of the tropical rainforests to life for your students in the comfort of your classroom.

 

The Rainforest Roadshow features multiple interdisciplinary presentations that incorporate rainforest artifacts, plants, and animals.  Certain animals, when available, will actually accompany the rainforest expert during the presentation. Throughout the presentations, your students will learn valuable and interesting information about the Central and South American rainforest.

 

Presentations are forty-five minutes long and available for up to eighty students at a time. Price is based on location. For presentations within Region IV, the first presentation is $100.00. You can schedule additional presentations for $75.00 and up to four presentations in a single day.

 

Presentations outside of Region IV include a mileage fee. Reservations are required, and they must be made at least two weeks in advance. We recommend booking your Rainforest Roadshow as early as possibly so you can reserve the time slot you want.

 

For more information and reservations, please call 1-800-582-4673, ext 4325 or email us at education@moodygardens.com.

 

Moody Gardens is a public, non-profit and educational destination, which is why we are dedicated to teaching the youth about nature and conservation. To learn more about the educational events and activities we provide, visit us at http://www.moodygardens.com/teaching_learning/.

 

Moody Gardens is also dedicated to providing our visitors with a fun and memorable time, so be sure to visit our Aquarium Pyramid and Rainforest Pyramid. The Moody Gardens Hotel is one of the best places to stay in Galveston and a popular vacation destination.

 

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Group Meal Deals at Moody Gardens

January 14th, 2013

sliced whole salami pizzaAt Moody Gardens, we welcome large groups of any size and kind! Whether you are coming from a school, a convention, or a senior residence facility, we have meal deals to fit your group’s needs.

 

You can enjoy discounted meal deals at our Palm Beach Concession Stand during the summer season, or year-round at the Aquarium Pyramid Food Court.

 

The following meal deal options are available with a reservation:

 

Aquarium Meal Deal


  • Hotdog, chips, drink, cookie $5.75
  • Turkey sandwich, chips, drink, cookie $6.00
  • Personal cheese pizza, chips, drink, cookie $6.50
  • Cheeseburger, chips, drink, cookie $6.75

 

Palm Beach Meal Deal – Seasonal

  • Hotdog, chips, drink, cookie $5.75
  • Turkey sandwich, chips, drink, cookie $6.00
  • Personal cheese pizza, chips, drink, cookie $6.50
  • Cheeseburger, chips, drink, cookie $6.75

 

Garden Restaurant
Lunch Buffet – Seasonal

  • $18.00 inclusive per Adult
  • $15.00 inclusive for Senior Citizens Tuesdays
  • $12.00 inclusive per Child 4-12

 

Unfortunately, our meal deal options are only available to pre-registered groups. Reservations must be made through the group sales department. If you don’t have reservations, your group will have to purchase food a la carte, which will require adequate time for everyone to get through the service line.

 

The group meal deal option is not only more convenient, but will also save you time and money! Without having to worry about getting everyone through the food line and getting everyone paid for, your group will have more time to enjoy the exciting and educational attractions at Moody Gardens such as the Aquarium Pyramid and Rainforest Pyramid.

 

To learn more about group reservations and meal deals please contact us at 1-800-582-4673, ext. 4203 or 4362. We would love to talk to you about how we can accommodate your large group.

 

If you and your group need a place to lay your heads at night, the Moody Gardens Hotel is one of the best places to stay in Galveston.

 

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Galveston Area Attractions

January 10th, 2013

dv801006Obviously, the most popular attraction in Galveston is Moody Gardens. Our Aquarium Pyramid, Rainforest Pyramid, Golf Course, and more have been attracting locals and island visitors for years. However, while we are proud of Moody Gardens there are other great attractions to visit while vacationing (or living) in Galveston.

 

Galveston Island Ferry: The ferry is one of Galveston’s most popular attractions. The ferry is on Highway 87, and visitors can park and ride the ferry or drive their cars aboard. The ferries are free and run about every fifteen to twenty minutes.

 

Pier 21 Theater: Want to learn more about Galveston’s rich history, or the historical hurricane in 1900? The Great Storm is a multimedia presentation that gives visitors a look at the devastating storm through a multi-image documentary. The 27-minute film shows the story through actual accounts from diaries and letters of survivors.

 

Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier: The famous pier is the perfect spot to take your family for a fun-filled day while you’re in Galveston. The pier has been transformed into an amusement park, with tons of rides that soar over the Gulf of Mexico. There are also plenty of shops and famous restaurants, such as Bubba Gump Shrimp.

 

Seawolf Park: This historic park is a memorial to the USS Seawolf, which was a United States Navy submarine mistakenly sunk by U.S. Navy Forces during World War II. The park also has a popular picnic area, and you and your family can fish off of the well-maintained pier.

 

These attractions are only a handful of the fun experiences you can have in Galveston. Don’t forget to spend a day on the beaches, hang out along the Seawall, or go shopping in the Strand. To learn more about Galveston and what it has to offer visit www.galveston.com.

 

If you’re looking for family weekend getaways in Texas, then look no further than Galveston Island. Moody Gardens Hotel is one of the best places to stay in Galveston, and one of the best places for entertainment! We look forward to seeing you soon.

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Galveston’s “Beach Nourishment Project”

January 9th, 2013

71031838Moody Gardens is excited about Galveston’s commitment to keeping its beaches beautiful! Galveston Island’s beaches recently received a makeover with the Beach Nourishment Project, allowing residents and island visitors to bury their toes in the beautiful new sand!

 

The Beach Nourishment Project was a $6-million investment that added over 500,000 cubic feet of new sand to the Galveston beaches between 10th Street and 61st street.

 

The goal of the project was to be done in time for the Kemp Ridley turtle nesting season! The Kemp Ridley turtles are the rarest sea turtles and are critically endangered. Just like Moody Gardens, the city of Galveston is committed to rehabilitating and conserving nature.

 

On top of helping out Mother Nature, the Beach Nourishment Project was created to make the beaches more appealing for residents and island visitors. The city worked day and night to complete the project, which added over fifty feet of beach along the Seawall, creating an even more exciting and fulfilling beach experience!

 

This holiday season, come to Galveston and check out the beautiful beaches, shops, and restaurants along the Seawall. While you’re here appreciating our beaches, rest your head at the Moody Gardens Hotel, one of the best places to stay in Galveston.

 

In the summer season, when you don’t want to go to far from the hotel, we have our own beach right here on the grounds. Palm Beach is Galveston’s only white sand beach. Palm Beach also includes a Lazy River, Wave Pool, Tower Slides, Splashpad, and an Aquarium Adventure. While you’re at Moody Gardens’ own white sand beach, you’ll be surrounded by the lush botanical landscaping, and be near the famous Aquarium Pyramid and Rainforest Pyramid.

 

Come visit Galveston and Moody Gardens for your family weekend getaways in Texas. We look forward to sharing our beaches and accommodations with you soon.

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Dining Options at Moody Gardens

January 8th, 2013

Screen Shot 2012-12-21 at 12.04.18 PMMoody Gardens is known for its educational and recreational attractions, such as the Rainforest Pyramid and Aquarium Pyramid, but did you know that we also have quite a few delicious dining options? When you come for the fun, don’t miss out on the food as well.

 

At the Moody Gardens Hotel, we have the privilege of serving food artfully prepared by Galveston Island’s most celebrated chef, Executive Chef Urs Schmid. Chef Urs and his culinary team use only the finest and freshet ingredients to create our exquisite cuisine. Join us for a memorable meal at Shearn’s Restaurant or The Terrace Restaurant.

 

Shearn’s Restaurant

If you’re on the hunt for Galveston’s finest dining, then you have found the right place! Shearn’s Restaurant is located on the ninth floor of the Moody Gardens hotel, and its cuisine and service can’t be beat.  Locals come to Shearn’s Restaurant to enjoy the entrées and the upscale ambiance. Come taste Chef Urs signature dishes such as the lobster bisque or shrimp DeJonghe for yourself! Join us for dinner Tuesday through Saturday in dressy casual attire. Sorry, but no jeans, shorts, or tank tops allowed.

 

During the afternoon and evening, enjoy a cocktail in Shearn’s Lounge. Surrounded by views of the pyramids and Galveston Bay sunsets, it’s the perfect location for an evening drink.

 

The Terrace Restaurant

Dine in a location designed to bring the outdoors inside. You’ll be surrounded by tropical plants, hand-painted murals, hand-painted stained ceilings, and magnificent butterflies when you enjoy a meal at the Terrace Restaurant. The Terrace Restaurant can be found on the lobby level of the Moody Gardens Hotel and is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Bring your family in to try the best gumbo in Galveston! Kids also eat free at the Terrace Restaurant when you stay in the hotel!

 

Join us at Moody Gardens for your next special occasion or family weekend getaways in Texas.

 

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