Thinkery21 gets sudsy with May event Pursuit of Hoppiness

Often beer-drinkers don’t consider getting toasted while playing a piano powered by water in the middle of a children’s museum, but the folks at Thinkery open their doors after-hours once monthly for just that reason. Thinkery21 is a way for grown ups to enjoy an evening at the Thinkery on their own. Staff closes the museum to kids and lets adults, ages 21 and up, eat, drink and mingle while experiencing innovative science, art and more interesting topics.

May’s Thinkery21 event has us especially excited because, on top of the museum’s already insanely fun STEAM-inspired exhibits (STEAM being an acronym for science, technology, engineering, art, and math based learning), they are delving into the science behind one of our all-time favorite things: BEER!!!!

“Beer seemed like the perfect topic for us to explore. Austin has so many amazing craft breweries! When I floated the idea of beer as a topic, the staff immediately said “yes!” We have a huge lineup of the masterminds from some of Austin’s finest local breweries including Hops & Grains, Austin Beerworks, Independence Brewing Co, NXNW, and Jester King. Plus, we have folks from Austin Homebrew Supply, Hopper, McLendon Photography, UT’s Astronomy Program and OMG! Cheesecakery” said Adrienne Barnett, Thinkery’s Public Programs Manager.

On May 21st, Austin-based breweries, like Independence, Austin Beerworks, and Hops & Grain will show vistors yeast at work, explain the nuances of different grains within a beer, and blow palates away with hop infusions. Plus bug and beer pairings with Hopper and a giant beer pong catapult. That’s right. A giant. Beer. Pong. Catapult.

“We will sprinkle activities throughout the museum and repurpose some areas. For example, our Move Studio! exhibit is normally a space where kids can dance along with music and interactive images. For the Pursuit of Hoppiness, we are turning the space into an area where you can find out how alcohol inhibits brain signals in a game akin to dodgeball in an activity we are calling, the Science of Being Drunk” said Barnett.

With so many events going on, I, for one, cannot wait. Sadly, this event sold out during the writing of this story (talk about bad timing) but if you can’t make the May event, there are a ton of cool Thinkery21 themes just around the corner.

• July 9, Thinkery21: Inkery, from tattoos to henna, from tie-dye to squid, join us for an evening exploring ink. I heard tell there will even be synthetic skin for visitors to try their hand laying down their own ink with a real tattoo gun. 
• August 20, Thinkery21: Color, brighten your perception – explore the science and art of color.

So don’t forget to buy tickets early at thinkeryaustin.org/thinkery21/! 

– Sarah