Author: Moody Gardens (Page 18 of 37)

Creating ICE LAND Ice Sculptures: The Team

November 10, 2014 / Moody Gardens / 1 Comment

If you want the best, you need to hire the best! That’s why Moody Gardens traveled to Harbin, China, to recruit the award-winning VYA Ice Carving team.

On Sept. 27, Moody Gardens gave an official warm Texas welcome to these 31 master ice carvers from China.

The carvers traveled half way around the world to Galveston where they will transform 900 tons of ice into towering and majestic works of art featuring the beloved underwater characters from SpongeBob SquarePants during the holidays.

The conception of ICE LAND was inspired several years ago by the world’s largest International Ice and Snow Festival in Harbin.

Known as the Ice City, over 3,000 of the world’s top artisans create a 100-acre walk-through Ice Park complete with thousands of immense ice sculptures made from millions of pounds of ice.

The temperatures in Harbin stay below freezing for almost half the year, so spending approximately 1,080 hours within the ICE LAND tent that is chilled to nine degrees could actually be a warmer option for these professional ice carvers.

The VYA Ice Carving Team is led by Mr. Qui Guanghui, one of the top carving artists in the world.

Immediately after the welcome ceremony, the team went to work.

In a matter of hours, there was already a ton of progress from these incredible artists.

Stay tuned for our next Creating ICE LAND Ice Sculptures blog post where you’ll get a behind the scenes look at the ice carving process.

ICE LAND will be a frosty new addition to the Festival of Lights and other holiday attractions this year as Galveston makes its holiday transition into a Winter Wonder Island. Admission to the exhibit is $26.95 for adults, $21.95 for seniors and $15.95 for children, and will also be included in a Moody Gardens Value Pass that includes admission to the various Moody Gardens attractions and Festival of Lights for $59.95. A two-day pass is available for $79.95. Courtesy parkas will also be distributed to each guest. Visit moodygardens.org/iceland for more information and to purchase tickets.

Creating ICE LAND Ice Sculptures: The Construction

November 4, 2014 / Moody Gardens / 1 Comment

One of the biggest questions people have is how do you make it 9 degrees in Galveston?

The answer is a lot of planning and a lot of hard work under the Texas sun.

A skilled team from the Gilbane Building Company in Houston prepared for the construction of the tent for more than a year.

There were four stages to the development process that will be executed by a team of roughly 48 people.

The crew worked all day to make sure tent was ready in time for the arrival of the ice blocks

The first stage was pouring concrete footers to support the structure.

To make sure the space for the tent remained a usable parking lot for guests once the structure is removed in late January, the concrete for the footers was poured flush with the existing concrete so it was less noticeable and ensured that there is no damage to cars.

The next step was to erect the insulated tent.

The frames of the tent begin to go up

The Moody Gardens “skyline” beginning to change

The tent starts to take shape

Once up, the inside had to be insulated

Then the flooring was placed to insulate the tent at its ultimate 9 degree environment.

The finished product was an impressive 28,000 square foot tent that towered 40 feet into the air.

Stay tuned for our next Creating ICE LAND Ice Sculptures blog series! We’ll be getting to know the award-winning VYA Ice Carving team that will be creating the ICE LAND Ice Sculptures.

ICE LAND will be a frosty new addition to the Festival of Lights and other holiday attractions this year as Galveston makes its holiday transition into a Winter Wonder Island. Admission to the exhibit is $26.95 for adults, $21.95 for seniors and $15.95 for children, and will also be included in a Moody Gardens Value Pass that includes admission to the various Moody Gardens attractions and Festival of Lights for $59.95. A two-day pass is available for $79.95. Courtesy parkas will also be distributed to each guest. Visit moodygardens.org/iceland for more information and to purchase tickets.

World’s First Giant Screen 6P Laser Projection System to Debut at MG 3D Theater

October 22, 2014 / Moody Gardens / 8 Comments

The Moody Gardens MG 3D Theater has always been one of the best large-format screen theaters in the world. It will continue to live up to that status with the installation of a state-of-the-art laser projection system in the coming months.

The world’s first museum-based 4K 3D giant 6-Primary laser projection system will debut on the largest screen in Texas on Nov. 15.

Christie 4K 6P laser projection system

At least twice as efficient as today’s best 3D systems, Christie Digital System’s 6P laser projectors generate a proprietary mix of photoptically-optimized light wavelengths for each eye directly from the source, in effect eliminating the need for a highly inefficient stage of filtering or polarizing the light as it leaves the projector. New Dolby® 3D glasses specifically engineered to exactly match the 6 primary laser light wavelengths will yield nearly 90 percent light efficiency.

OK, what does that mean in layman’s terms for the average movie goer?

Well now audiences will see a picture that is nearly three and a half times brighter and featuring more vibrant colors than normal theaters. Moody Gardens is also replacing the 60 by 80 foot MG 3D silver screen with a white one. The result will be the sharpest picture quality ever seen in a 3D theater.

Along with the theater’s top-of-the-line 11.1 surround sound system, this new laser projection further distinguishes the MG 3D Theater as one of the premier cinema venues, giving audiences the best viewing experience in the world.

The system is the latest collaboration between D3D Cinema and Moody Gardens. In 2011 and 2012, Moody Gardens hosted the annual Digital Cinema Symposium, unveiling new technology from D3D and Christie.

Don Kempf, president and founder of D3D Cinema, said the new laser projection system is “unarguably the future of cinema presentation.”

“The DCI and DIGSS-compliant Christie laser solution, coupled with 6P glasses technology, will be unparalleled in terms of image quality,” Kempf said.The MG 3D Theater will close on Oct. 27 to have the new laser projection system installed. It will re-open on Nov. 15, just in time to show some of the most popular holiday movies during Moody Gardens’ Festival of Lights.

Creating ICE LAND Ice Sculptures: The Ice

October 16, 2014 / Moody Gardens / 0 Comments

One of the first challenges when creating ICE LAND was where to find 900 tons of ice. That’s not exactly something you can make in your refrigerator using an ice cube tray.

To create the ice, Moody Gardens enlisted the services of Flying Penguin Ice in Bryan, Texas.

Creating the ice wasn’t a simple process. First the colors had to be mixed in some of the biggest ice cube trays you will ever see.

After several of days freezing, the ice was removed…

The color was tested…

Clear block of ice

Blocks were shaved to the proper size.

They made it as smooth as possible

One of the many trucks ready to take ice to storage area

It took several days and 42 truck loads to bring all 6,000 blocks of ice to Galveston.

Moody Gardens staff unloaded the ice

The giant tent was quickly filled with pallet upon pallet of ice.

By the end, some of the ice was stacked up as high as five levels.

Stay tuned for our next Creating ICE LAND Ice Sculptures blog series! We’ll be taking a look at how a 28,000 square foot tent is built from the ground up.

ICE LAND will be a frosty new addition to the Festival of Lights and other holiday attractions this year as Galveston makes its holiday transition into a Winter Wonder Island. Admission to the exhibit is $26.95 for adults, $21.95 for seniors and $15.95 for children, and will also be included in a Moody Gardens Value Pass that includes admission to the various Moody Gardens attractions and Festival of Lights for $59.95. A two-day pass is available for $79.95. Courtesy parkas will also be distributed to each guest. Visit moodygardens.org/iceland for more information and to purchase tickets.

Musical Enrichment Event

October 10, 2014 / Moody Gardens / 0 Comments

GREEN MUSIC ENRICHMENT Jam out with the animals of the Rainforest Pyramid at our Music Enrichment Event this Saturday and Sunday October 11-12 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

What is Enrichment?

Animal enrichment is something that stimulates the senses or changes the environment. Several categories of enrichment are then used to enhance that species’ behavioral, physical, social, cognitive, and psychological well being.

This event, focuses on the auditory and vocal abilities of animals in the Rainforest Pyramid. Using music is just one of the many auditory ways that we can stimulate the animals. To them, it is simply a different sound. This replicates the various sounds they might encounter in the wild.

Stop by to enjoy the music with some of our most popular animals. Send us your pictures on Facebook, Twitter or Google+ using the hashtag #MGEnrichment so we can see it and share them too.

Here’s the schedule:

SATURDAY

10:30 a.m. Saki Monkeys: Guitar
11:00 a.m. Amazon Pond: Guest Jam Session
12:00 p.m. Otter Training Platform: Violin
1:30 p.m. Croc Monitor Exhibit: Piano
2:00 p.m. Rod Bat/Egyptian Bat: Harmonica/Guest Jam Session
3:30 p.m. Ocelot Exhibit: Guest Jam Session
4:00 p.m. Canopy: Flute

SUNDAY

10:30 a.m. Saki Monkeys: Violin
11:00 a.m. Otter Overlook: Guitar
12:00 p.m. Amazon Pond: Drum
1:30 p.m. Komodo Exhibit: Guitar/Piano
2:00 p.m. Rod Bat/Egyptian Bat: Harmonica/Guest Jam Session
3:30 p.m. Ocelot Exhibit: Guest Jam Session
4:00 p.m. Canopy: Flute

It was a SLOW week…

September 15, 2014 / Moody Gardens / 0 Comments

It’s a slow week around the world. A Slow Loris week that is!

Pygmy Slow Loris at the Rainforest Pyramid

Now in its fourth year, Slow Loris Outreach Week (S.L.O.W.) is aimed to bring awareness to the rapid decline of one of the world’s most endangered group of primates. SLOW lasts until Sunday, Sept. 14.

The week was started by “The Little Fireface Project,” the world’s longest running Loris conservation project. The Project started in 1993 under the supervision of the Nocturnal Primate Research Group of Oxford Brookes University.

So what exactly are Slow Lorises? Here are some facts about these unique primates.

• There are five types of Lorises – Sunda, Bengal, Pygmy, Javan, and Bornean.

• The name Little Fireface comes from the Sundanese name for Slow Loris – muka geni. In other languages, Loris means thin one, wind monkey (both in Sumatra and Thailand), forest baby, and the shy one.

• Slow Lorises are actually venomous, making them the only poisonous primate in the world. They produce their venom by combining saliva with oil from a gland on the upper arm. This poison can cause anaphylactic shock, and even death, to humans.

• Each Slow Loris species is recognized as either vulnerable or endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Threats to the Slow Loris include illegal pet trade, hunting for traditional medicinal purposes, and habitat loss/destruction.

You can see two Pygmy Slow Loris girls, Blackwell and Cai, at the Moody Gardens Rainforest Pyramid. Moody Gardens is a part of the AZA Species Survival Program, which is responsible for developing a comprehensive population Studbook and a Breeding and Transfer Plan which identifies population management goals and recommendations to ensure the sustainability of a healthy, genetically diverse, and demographically varied AZA population. Blackwell and Cai were both born at Moody Gardens.

To learn more about SLOW and what you can do to help, visit www.nocturama.org.

REAL Pirates Facts

September 8, 2014 / Moody Gardens / 0 Comments

Since the REAL PIRATES Exhibition sailed into Moody Gardens, visitors have been awed by the collection of artifacts from the only authenticated pirate ship in the world.

The touring exhibition, organized by National Geographic and Premier Exhibitions, Inc., brings the classical age of 18th century piracy to life by showcasing more than 200 artifacts recovered from the wreck site of the Whydah, which was discovered just off the coast of Cape Cod. The exhibition features artifacts like jewelry, weaponry and treasure chests full of gold and coins.

The wreckage of the Whydah, which sat hidden at the bottom of the ocean for 267 years, has also told us a lot about pirates. Here are some pirate facts you may not know.

Pirate ships were actually “floating democracies.” Captains were voted on and everyone aboard the vessel received equal shares of loot.
When pirates plundered a ship, the treasure was usually the last thing they went for. Medicine and food was more of a priority for the pirates.
Pirates were never actually made to walk the plank. If the crew no longer wanted someone on the ship, they simply threw him off.
Pirates also didn’t bury treasure to come back and claim later. If you invested money in a treasure map, you probably got swindled.
A pirate’s plundering career was normally over by the time he was 30 years old. Why? Scurvy usually claimed a pirate’s teeth, and he was no longer able to eat food on the ship.

RealPirates_Simple To find out even more facts about pirates and the Whydah, be sure to bring your booty down to Moody Gardens. The REAL PIRATES Exhibition hits the high seas on Sept. 28, so navigate to the Discovery Pyramid today!

CLICK HERE for more information & to purchase tickets

Get Crafty at BrewMasters Craft Beer Festival!

August 25, 2014 / Moody Gardens / 0 Comments

Have you ever wanted to enjoy the different tastes from around Texas and the world in one day?

Well this weekend you can when the fifth annual Brewmasters Craft Beer Festival returns to the Moody Gardens Convention Center. With more than 400 different craft beers, live music, and a unique dining experience, Brewmasters has been named one of the top ten best festivals in the country.

The experience starts on Friday with the Brewlicious Brews and Foods Pairing. For the serious beer and culinary enthusiast, this special evening is devoted to pairing delightful food with high-end premium beer. Enjoy the unique opportunity to sample spectacular pairings from 10 restaurants and breweries. This VIP event runs from 7-10 p.m. and tickets are $75. Click here to buy your tickets.

Don’t miss out on Saturday’s ultimate event for craft beer lovers – the BrewHaHa Grand Tasting. This delicious event will be from 3-6:30 p.m. in the Moody Gardens Expo Arena.

With your golden ticket you will receive your very own tasting cup, which is your passport to sample beer hailing from around the world. You will receive a tasting card for 24 tastings of your choice. Should you want to continue to sample from the selections, additional tasting cards are available for only $5 which allows for another 12 tastings.

Additional activities include a Wine Escape with wine samplings, access to multiple beer seminars on the Spec’s University Seminar Stage, and optional participation in The Pink Pinty Society to help support the Pink Ribbons Project, a women’s breast health organization.

Admissions to BrewHaHa Grand Tasting are $35 in advance, $40 at the door, $85 for a VIP ticket, or choose a multi-event Hopper Pass. Click here to buy your tickets.

After tasting some of the top craft beers in the world, head down to Palm Beach at Moody Gardens for the Beach, Brews and Bands.

Dance in the sand to live music, followed by a special fireworks show on Saturday and Sunday. Admission is $10 for pre-sale tickets, $12 at the gate, and includes access to all water features at Palm Beach. Texas country singer Jared Waggoner entertains the crowd on Saturday, while Rock band Rat Ranch takes the stage Sunday. Click here to buy your tickets.

For more details on the Brewmasters Craft Beer Festival, or to order tickets, visit www.brewmastersbeerfest.com.

School is In Session: Shark U Week 2014

August 12, 2014 / Moody Gardens / 0 Comments

#MGSharkQuest

August 11, 2014 / Moody Gardens / 0 Comments

Find the MG Shark Spots around property, marked by a fin, during Shark U Week and take a picture at each location. Upload to Twitter, Facebook or Instagram using the hashtag #MGSharkQuest to be entered to win a behind-the-scenes shark tour for up to 4 people.

CLICK HERE to download clues

Here’s how the shark quest is going so far: