Nov. 11: Tap Into Your Inner Investigator and Party Like A Spy at the Perot Museum’s Annual Fundraising Gala – Night At The Museum: Intrigue

Discover deceptive displays, exciting encryptions, natural oddities, secret societies, curious cuisine and forensic fun during this elusive evening of illusion that will have 1,000-plus patrons on their toes all night

(Featured photo : Adam Nelson, Emily Sharp, Thomas Surgent, Katie Irving, Grant Irving.)

Satiate your senses through an evening of exploration at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science’s annual fundraising gala, Night at the Museum: Intrigue, on Saturday, Nov. 11, from 7 p.m.-midnight. On all five levels of the Museum, guests can play and party as they explore everything from human mazes, mind tricks and mirrored illusions, to mystery food labs, sleights of hand and spy-game surprises. The nearly sold-out event will feature live entertainment, captivating cuisine and mysterious cocktails from Wolfgang Puck Catering, and fool-the-eye décor that will have patrons questioning reality all evening.

Sponsors at the Geode level and above are invited to attend the “top-secret” Sherlock Holmes-inspired VIP pre-party at 6 p.m., presented by Highland Capital Management, followed by the general party at 7 p.m. and an after-party from 9 p.m.-midnight. Dress is cocktail attire, and complimentary valet parking will be offered. Live music by the sensational Taylor Pace Orchestra will rock the rafters at the after-party.

Throughout the evening, guests can tap into their inner investigator by delving into cryptozoology (does the Loch Ness monster exist?), lie-detector tests, lipstick print readings, augmented reality and more. On Level 2, they’ll get to crack a case in an Agatha Christie-inspired “Poirot” crime lab with fingerprinting, document examination and DNA analysis, and test their taste buds with blind tastings and food pairings. On Level 3, guests will embark on natural curiosities with squid and shark dissections, baffling botany and camouflage. On Level 4, they’ll encounter the art of deception with mysterious henna body art, a fashion light tunnel booth, 3D holograms, optical cloaking invisibility, optical illusions, and more.

Adding a touch of cosmic curiosity to the evening is the Perot Museum’s new traveling exhibition, Journey to Space, which explores the extraordinary conditions, dangers and rewards of human space travel. Guests can “climb aboard” two walk-through, rotating simulations of the International Space Station (ISS) Destiny module, launch a rocket, test gravity in a drop tower, control a robotic arm, check out Neil Armstrong’s authentic space garb, and experience the sights, sounds and even smells, on board an orbiting space station.

“This year’s Night at the Museum will truly be a transformative experience for our guests,” said Dr. Linda Abraham-Silver, the Eugene McDermott Chief Executive Officer of the Perot Museum. “It’s more than just a chance to play detective; this event will explore the high-tech technology and tools that will shape the future. Even your taste buds will be intrigued! And this is our biggest night in terms of fundraising, allowing us to continue our mission to inspire minds through nature and science.”

The science of food is explored with 3D food printing, a mystery food lab and more. The menu, which will have guests questioning the boundaries of culinary possibilities, includes “squid ink” gnochetti and black truffles; homemade pimento cheese pretzels; Maine lobster horseradish panna cotta with spicy tomato and rainbow sorrel; plus a rotary evaporator station that extracts the taste – but not the smell – from distilled local apple cider.

Other surreal sustenance will include Pacific cod and shanghai curry with aromatic rice; Texas “poutine” brisket with bourbon gravy and jalapeno cheddar curds; French toast sticks with bourbon-infused maple syrup and blueberry thyme jam; “blinis” with smoked salmon and dill crème fraiche; a fractal art mirror glazed cake station; crispy quail confit with apple-fennel micro slaw and fresno chili glaze; caramelized cauliflower with golden raisins, sumac vinaigrette and pumpkin hummus; forbidden black rice conge with coconut, vanilla, cinnamon, raw sugar and pear; and more.

During the after-party, guests can grab wearable disguises while munching on late-night snacks such as Korean style fried chicken with garlic and chive flowers and chocolate-dipped toasted marshmallows with graham cracker dust.

Event co-chairs are Sylvia E. Cespedes and Hernan J.F. Saenz III and Meredith and Mark Plunkett, and honorary chairs are Sharon and Kip Tindell. Lead commitments include $100,000 Planet-level contributions from Highland Capital Management; Lyda Hill; Margot and Ross Perot; and The Moody Foundation; $50,000 Dinosaur-level contributions from Balfour Beatty Construction, The Hoglund Foundation, and Sharon and Kip Tindell; and $25,000 Turbine-level commitments from Diane and Hal Brierley,Nancy Perot and Rod Jones, Suzanne and Patrick K McGee, Carolyn and Karl Rathjen, Katherine and Michael Phillips and Katherine and Eric Reeves.

The $12,500 Geode-level supporters are David B. Miller Family Foundation; Emily and David Corrigan and Robie and Fallon Vaughn; Gene and Jerry Jones; John and Rusty Jaggers; The Eugene McDermott Foundation; Mac and Cassie McFarland; and The Rosewood Corporation.

The 2017 Host Committee members are Wasan and Kasim Alfalahi; Sarah and Sam Bloom; Sheila and Dave Beuerlein; Diane and Hal Brierley; Kate and Lane Britain; Lucy and Michael Brittian; Kelly Compton; Catherine Corrigan; Emily and David Corrigan;Marena and Roger Gault; Heather and Chris Gilker; Robyn and Andrew Gould; Carolyn and Loren Greaves; Cathey and Don Humphreys; Rusty and John Jaggers; Libby and Murray McCabe; Cassie and Mac McFarland; Suzanne and Patrick McGee; Virginia and Ben Mimmack; Raamel Mitchell; Caitlin and Akers Moore; Tori and Ross Mulford; Mr. and Mrs. Juan Manuel Pascual; Nancy Perot and Rod Jones; Carolyn and Karl Rathjen;Katherine and Eric Reeves; Elizabeth and Bart Showalter; Camille and Earl Simpkins;Nicole and Justin Small; Julie and Jacob Walter; Abby and Todd Williams; and Linda and Ken Wimberly.

Proceeds from the annual Night at the Museum gala will support the Museum’s mission to inspire minds through nature and science by funding educational programming, student scholarships, Museum operations, traveling exhibitions and impactful research.

Ticket packages start at $2,500 (six attendees). Individual tickets are not available. For more information, please email NightAtTheMuseum@perotmuseum.org, call 214.756.5815 or go to perotmuseum.org/NATM.

About the Perot Museum of Nature and Science. The top cultural attraction in Dallas/Fort Worth and a Michelin Green Guide three-star destination, the Perot Museum of Nature and Science is a nonprofit educational organization located in the heart of Dallas, Texas, with campuses in Victory Park and Fair Park. With a mission to inspire minds through nature and science, the Perot Museum delivers exciting, engaging and innovative visitor and outreach experiences through its education, exhibition, and research and collections programming for children, students, teachers, families and life-long learners. The 180,000-square-foot facility in Victory Park opened in December 2012 and is now recognized as the symbolic gateway to the Dallas Arts District. Future scientists, mathematicians and engineers will find inspiration and enlightenment through 11 permanent exhibit halls on five floors of public space; a children’s museum; a state-of-the art traveling exhibition hall; and The Hoglund Foundation Theater, a National Geographic Experience. Designed by 2005 Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate Thom Mayne and his firm Morphosis Architects, the Victory Park museum has been lauded for its artistry and sustainability. To learn more, please visit perotmuseum.org