Penguin Encounter – Moody Gardens Galveston, TX

Moody Gardens is a really fun and educational tourist destination located in Galveston, TX. Moody Gardens features three pyramids: The Aquarium Pyramid, The Rainforest Pyramid, and The Discovery Pyramid. The penguin encounter is a unique and one of kind experience that you will likely never forget.

Located inside the Aquarium Pyramid, aquarium admission is required as well as a ticket to the penguin encounter. Penguin Encounters are only available on Wednesdays – Sundays with only 10 tickets issued per day. Penguin Encounters allows you to actually go behind the scenes and have the opportunity to meet a Moody Gardens biologist and a penguin. There are five species of penguins at Moody Gardens; Chinstrap, Gentoo, King, Macaroni, and Rockhopper. The biologists at Moody Gardens never force penguins to participate in the encounters; rather they let the penguins decide if they want to participate. Guests meet the keeper at the South Atlantic Exhibit at 1:00pm. You are then lead to a staff only area. You are instructed to step into a plastic container to sanitize the soles of your shoes. This is to prevent bringing any germs into the area. You are then brought back to the room for the encounter. It is a small room with benches along the wall. They then open the door and the first penguin to come in gets to participate in the encounter. We were lucky enough to get a King penguin.

King penguins are the second largest species of penguins and the largest at Moody Gardens. They stand about 28-39 inches full grown and weigh 21-40 pounds. Our penguin came in and walked around to everyone. We were told we could pet his head with two fingers. He was super sweet, although I must say that the beak was a little intimidating! The biologist then had him walk into some none toxic paint and had him walk over a canvas making penguin art! It was such a fun and distinctive experience. Be warned that the area behind the scenes stinks! If you are extremely sensitive to smells this experience might not be for you. We also learned that all the food they feed the animals at Moody Gardens is human quality. They are very particular and take the highest care of the animals in their care.

The Penguin Encounter was such a special experience that we all enjoyed. I would highly recommend!