Moody Gardens is transforming Aquarium Pyramid with $37 million in unique enhancements

Moody Gardens connects guests with ocean by bringing the outside in with their $37 million Aquarium Pyramid enhancements.

Moody Gardens is adding piece by piece in their multi-phased renovation allowing guests to dive in and journey to new depths exploring the Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, South Pacific, North Pacific and 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 Caribbean Exhibit includes The Pride, a 19th 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.”

Also new will be in-water presentations by Moody Gardens divers.  Divers will now be able to take and answers questions while in the exhibit, further building on guests’ immersive experience.

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.

“Our Caribbean Exhibit is one of the largest tropical marine exhibits in the country. We wanted to focus on that area and felt the shipwreck was a focal point for the marine life and for our guests,” Moody Gardens Animal Husbandry Manager Greg Whittaker said. “This creates a tie to Galveston, the early history of the island and its pirate romance.”

The new Flower Garden Banks Exhibit highlights the unique tropical coral reef system found just 115 miles offshore.

Moody Gardens worked closely with the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary to replicate the diversity guests would see if they dove deep in the Gulf of Mexico and experienced the Flower Garden Banks first-hand. The sanctuary is charged with protecting three separate areas: the East Flower Garden Bank, West Flower Garden Bank and Stetson Bank.

The Flower Garden Banks were discovered in the early 1900s by snapper and grouper fishermen and named after its brightly colored sponges, plants and marine life. Brain and Star coral dominate the system, which also includes two colonies of Elkhorn Coral.

“Our overall mission is to protect and conserve the natural ecosystem and educate people about the world around us. Adding these two new exhibits connects our guests with the ocean in our front yard,” Whittaker said.

Exhibits will not only inspire visitors’ interest and empathy, but also connect them to specific ocean habitats. Each ocean exhibit will highlight different marine sanctuaries and different aspects of our relationship to the seas.

To track progress of renovations, and for more information, please visit www.moodygardens.org  or call 800-582-4673.

photo credit: V. Sweeten