Moody Gardens, Botanical garden and aquarium in Galveston, United States
Moody Gardens is an educational complex in Galveston, Texas, featuring three large glass pyramids that each house different environments: a tropical rainforest with living plants and animals, an aquarium with marine life from different oceans, and interactive science exhibits. The facility spans multiple acres along the shore of Galveston Bay and offers additional attractions like a cinema and outdoor gardens.
The Moody Foundation created this facility in the 1980s as an educational project that originally aimed to rehabilitate people with brain injuries. The pyramids were added in the early 1990s, beginning with the rainforest, followed by the aquarium and later the science exhibition areas.
The architectural approach uses three large glass pyramids, each creating a sealed climate zone that lets visitors experience tropical conditions in the middle of the Texas coast. Families move between the structures and find a completely different habitat in each, from humid jungle to underwater world.
Access begins at a central welcome building where visitors obtain entry for individual pyramids or combination packages. Pathways between the structures are wheelchair accessible, and each pyramid has climate-controlled interiors with seating areas for resting during the walk-through.
The rainforest pyramid houses a colony of free-flying bats that visitors can see swooping through the upper canopy. The facility also serves as a breeding ground for endangered butterfly species, which are raised in a separate enclosure before release.
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