Moody Gardens Penguin Encounter

I'm uploading this so people who are interested in doing the penguin encounter at Moody Gardens in Galveston, TX can get a better idea of what all it entails.

Please keep in mind that my experience was somewhat unique and so it will probably not be the same for everyone. I was "lucky" in that when I bought my ticket for the group penguin encounter, I was actually the only ticket sold for that time slot that day. So, instead of a group encounter I got more of a private tour.

In this case, I believe because I was an adult and I was calm (and because my biologist tour guide was awesome!), I got to meet more than one penguin as is the norm for these encounters. If you are in a group and there's a lot of loud kids in there with you I don't think they will usually bring in more than one. And also I think touching the penguins is also not guaranteed.

The king penguin at the end is actually the first penguin I met who, it turned out, was not interested in painting for me that day, so I got to meet Hendrix! He is a very charismatic penguin and he really enjoys doing these encounters and being with his towels! The penguins in this video are Rockhoppers, King and Gentoo penguins.

All in all, I would highly recommend experiencing this encounter if you're at all on the fence about it. It's very cute and the money all goes toward conservation.