Perot Museum Of Nature And Science Annual Fundraising Gala – Night At The Museum: Ignite – Is Nov. 9; Proceeds To Increase Stem Access For North Texas Kids
Colorful “flame” arches, flambé fare, fire breathers and an electrifying after-party on tap as the much-anticipated Night at the Museum celebrates engineering and innovation throughout all five levels for 1,000-plus revelers
WHAT: It’s a gala unlike any other – complete with flame eaters, VR tilt brushing, lasers, a shouting paleontologist, glitter hair bar and other mind-igniting experiences! Engineering and innovation (with a fiery twist!) will light up the night for the Perot Museum of Nature and Science’s annual Night at the Museum fundraising party – themed Ignite – on Saturday, Nov. 9, from 7 p.m.-midnight. (Media are encouraged to shoot photos during the 6 p.m. VIP pre-party reception.) Proceeds support the Perot Museum’s mission to increase access to STEM education in North Texas.
GO AND DO. More than 1,000 are expected to attend the evening affair, which will welcome guests with color-changing illuminated arches that simulate fire, a neon-lit champagne wall and blue glitter carpet, among other glam-and-fab fanfare. Making their way through the Museum, patrons will encounter activities involving heat, augmented reality, steampunk-inspired gears and cogs, circuits, robots, a Rube Goldberg machine, mechanics and more. Guests also can enjoy live entertainment plus a blazing after-party featuring the Georgia Bridgwater Orchestra from 9 p.m.-midnight.
DRESS UP. Party goers can get glittered at the “ignite hair bar” and let a futuristic makeup artist work their Coachella-esque magic. Guests can capture the flashy fun with a plethora of photo ops, from a 360-degree photo station to roaming robot photogs, to a Star Wars®-style neuron firing photo booth and “drawbot” digital caricatures. Steampunk models will also be on hand for vintage pics.
EAT. From flaming fare and aeration stations to viscosity cocktails and a moving bolt bar, the spread of food and drinks by Wolfgang Puck Catering will be sublime. Highlights will include Asian-infused cuisines presented on a conveyor belt, a flambé crepe station, test-tube cocktails and more, plus late-night bites such as chicken schnitzel, wagyu beef burgers and boozy milkshakes. The VIP party will feature a flambé steak station plus molecular sphere and crack-the-glass Negroni Italian cocktails.
SNEAK PEEK. Guests also can be first to experience – three days before its public unveiling – the updated Texas Instruments Engineering and Innovation Hall, a 4,500-square-foot highly interactive space filled with the wonder of engineering and brilliance of innovation. From a massive experiment lab, sleek robotics centers and a giant music sequencer to wind tubes and a crank-able mechanical sculpture, the bilingual hall (presented in English and Spanish) will showcase science that makes the world tick with curiosity-quenching interactives.
Event chairs are Marlene and John Sughrue, and the honorary chair is Mary McDermott Cook. Lead commitments include $100,000 Planet-level contributions from Lyda Hill, the Eugene McDermott Foundation and Margot Perot and $50,000 Dinosaur-level contributions from Balfour Beatty Construction and The Hoglund Foundation and $25,000 Turbine-level contributions from Atmos Energy; Cassie and Mac McFarland; Suzanne and Patrick McGee; GenOn Energy; Highland Capital Management; Nancy Perot and Rod Jones; Sarah and Ross Perot, Jr.; Katherine and Michael Phillips; Katherine and Eric Reeves; Carolyn and Karl Rathjen; and Deedie Rose. Sewell Automotive Companies is the premier automotive sponsor, Wolfgang Puck Catering is the catering sponsorand PaperCity is the media sponsor.
Ticket packages start at $3,000 (for six guests) and VIP packages start at $12,500 (for ten guests with access to the VIP pre-party and VIP lounge.) For details, go to perotmuseum.org/NATM.
WHY: Proceeds from the annual Night at the Museum gala 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.
WHEN: Saturday, Nov. 9. The VIP pre-party runs from 6-7 p.m., the gala will run from 7 p.m.-midnight, and the after-party begins at 9 p.m.
IMPORTANT: The best time to shoot photos of the chairs and major donors/sponsors is during the “Origins of Innovation” pre-party from 6-7 p.m. in the “Inventors Workshop” (auditorium) on the Lower Level. Following the pre-party, media are also welcome to shoot candids of guests throughout the Museum.
WHERE: 2201 N. Field St., Dallas, Texas
ATTIRE: Dress is cocktail attire.
RSVP: To attend, RSVP by Wednesday, Nov. 6. A ticket is not needed for check-in but your name must be on the master list.
CHECK-IN: Check-in will be inside the main Museum entrance on the Plaza where your name will be on the master list.
PARKING: Complimentary valet will be available at the River Street entrance (located off Field Street) or self-parking is available in the parking lot under Woodall Rodgers Freeway. When you arrive at the main entrance of the building, you will be directed to the Lower Level.
###
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 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. 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.
