Beer science

Recreating foreign environments in a controlled space is an amazing skill, one that often gets… Recreating foreign environments in a controlled space is an amazing skill, one that often gets lost in some committee’s desire to have the whole thing be true to life. No one goes to KenTacoHut to experience authentic pizza, tacos and/or Southern cooking.

The 1,200 guests attending the Carnegie Science Center’s “On Tap” fund-raising event are probably not going to see how the Mexican fiesta-themed party will mesh perfectly with the butterfly migration route to central Mexico featured in the Center’s Omnimax movie, “Amazing Journey’s: Great Migrations.”

Oh sure, there will be a couple of people who come in to work on Monday and say, “It was just amazing. It was like I was really in Mexico with butterflies, but I was in a museum. And that Miguel Mariachi Band, they were so good, and I even got Jim to dance the merengue!”

But for the guests who attended the fund-raising event because they thought it would be a good date idea, there are lots of things planned for the event – all four floors of the museum will be used for the Carnival de Mexicana. Instead of sulking in the basement like at a church youth group mixer, guests can sulk by the telescope at the rooftop conservatory.

At some fund-raisers, people have to sneak the peach schnapps in with the orange juice when the caterer isn’t looking, or spike the punch with Spanish fly when everyone else is on the dance floor. At “On Tap,” everyone gets three tickets worth of beer, this includes friends and dates who don’t like to drink.

The location has something to offer, too. “On Tap” is usually held at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Oakland. People might like sitting by the fountain in front of the art museum, talking about some installation piece made out of plywood. But to watch intoxicated guests sit through an Omnimax movie without puking, squint through a telescope and roam through rooms of primary-colored exhibits while trying to explain how the butterfly migration theme has something to do with the sombrero has its own appeal.

Tickets for this 21-and-over event are $30 and can be purchased by calling the Carnegie Science Center at 237-1816. Proceeds benefit the Carnegie Science Center. Tickets cannot be purchased at the door.