Open Daily:
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Current Time:
7:26 AM
Directions:
727 W Main Street
Louisville, KY 40202
(502) 561-6100
[email protected]
Kentucky Science Center is open 7 days a week from 9:30AM – 5:00PM. Tickets can be purchased online.

Science With A Twist

Science With A Twist

CONTACT: Gil Reyes
Senior Manager of External Affairs
Kentucky Science Center
M: 502-889-5600
[email protected]

Annual Science With A Twist Fundraising Gala Takes Guests Back to the Seventies

This year’s event theme, “Science Since ’77” recognizes 40 years on Main Street and encourages guests to dress up and Do Science for a good cause.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Louisville and surrounding areas – Kentucky Science Center will hold its annual Science With a Twist gala on February 3, 2018 from 6:00 p.m. to 11 p.m. at their flagship facility, 727 W. Main St., to raise crucial funds in support of their mission, programming, and operations.

This year’s theme, “Science Since ‘77”, is a nod to the grand opening of the Museum of Natural History and Science – which would later become the Louisville Science Center and then the Kentucky Science Center – at this location on Main Street 40 years ago.

Doors to the gala open at 6:00 p.m. with brief remarks and an award ceremony at 7:00, followed by an evening of seventies’ science, fun, and memories. The 70’s-themed event will span three floors of the museum (the “1st Floor Disco”, “That ‘70’s Floor”, and “Close Encounters of the Third Floor”) and will give guests a chance to experience the most iconic characteristics of the decade – from macramé to mood rings – trick their taste buds with “flavor tripping”, and explore the real science behind iconic seventies sci-fi.

The gala will honor 2017’s three Ambassadors of Science Literacy for their work in the community and connections to the Science Center: Dr. Kristopher Rau, Senior Research Scientist in the University of Louisville’s Department of Anesthesiology, Mercy Academy (the first and only all-girl certified STEM school in the nation and the first STEM school of any kind in Kentucky), Gail Becker, Emeritus Executive Director of the Louisville Science Center.

“Science with a Twist gives adults a chance to ‘live our mission’ as they Do Science throughout the Science Center,” said Chief External Affairs Officer Lisa Resnik, “but it’s all in support of a great cause. Our goal is to raise $10,000 at the event, all of which will help advance science literacy in the community and across the state.”

Guests can help the Science Center reach that goal by participating in a Wine Pull or by making donations to costumed representatives Sonny and Cher who will roam the party that evening.

Tickets to the event are $100, or $250 for a V.I.P. ticket, which includes access to a VIP lounge with premier food, upscale bar, and plenty of seating. All guests will enjoy strolling dinner provided by Horseshoe Indiana, open bar, reception, and valet parking. As always, themed hands-on activities will be offered on every floor.

Guests are strongly encouraged to dress in ‘70’s costume. Anything seventies related, from Disco Divas to Storm Troopers, goes. There will prizes for best individuals, both male and female, and best group costume.

Kentucky Science Center would like to thank their platinum-level presenting sponsor for the evening, Brown-Forman. They also thank their gold-level sponsors: Horseshoe Southern Indiana, LG&E-KU, DD Williamson The Color House; silver-level sponsors: Genscape, InLine Engineers, Voluforms, GE Appliances; and their bronze-level sponsors: AT&T Kentucky, Churchill Downs, Louisville Public Media, USA Image, UPS, Kosair Charities, and Mountjoy Chilton Medley.

Tickets can be purchased online at KYScienceCenter.org or by phone at 502-560-7128. For more information or to schedule an interview, contact Gil Reyes at [email protected].

Fact Sheet:

WHAT: Science With A Twist
WHERE: Kentucky Science Center, 727 W Main St, Louisville KY 40202
WHEN: February 3, 2018 from 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

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Gail R. Becker is Executive Director Emeritus of the Louisville Science Center, where she served from 1991 to 2008, and led a transformation of an aging Natural history museum into the center of activity it is today. She is a former board member of the Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation, the Arts and Cultural Economic Council, and the Main Street Association. She is past president and former board member of the Association of Science-Technology Centers, as well as the American Association of Museums. From 1965 to 1991, she worked for the U.S. Information Agency organizing U.S. cultural exchange exhibits for foreign audiences. In 2014, she became the founding executive director of the newly formed Brightside Foundation. She continues to be involved with local and national non-profit organizations and currently serves on the board of Louisville Public Media and as a member of Leadership Louisville, the Rotary Club of Louisville, and the Louisville Committee on Foreign Relations.

Kristofer Rau, PhD is a Senior Research Scientist in the University of Louisville’s Department of Anesthesiology, and a member of the Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center. His research is in the field of neuroscience, with an emphasis on the study of nociception and pain. He is also the past president of the Louisville Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience – the world’s largest organization of scientists and clinicians devoted to understanding the brain and nervous system. For the last three years, Dr. Rau has been instrumental in the expansion of science outreach efforts by the local Society for Neuroscience. During 2017 alone, 61 chapter volunteers served over 700 hours of their time during the course of 31 service projects that reached over 4000 members of the Louisville community. Many of these activities have been hosted by the Kentucky Science Center, including the Louisville Regional Science and Engineering Fair, the Youth Science Summit, STEMinar, Scientific Proofs, the Great Big Idea program, a Halloween event, and Eat, Drink, Do Science! This past year he also initiated and led the new Brain Days science celebration at the Kentucky Science Center, where visitors have the opportunity to meet real neuroscientists and neurosurgeons, and visit more than 20 interactive neuroscience-themed stations scattered throughout the science center.

Mercy Academy, the nation’s only all-girls certified Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (S.T.E.M.) program, provides students with an unmatched educational experience inside and outside the classroom through an interdisciplinary curriculum in science, technology, engineering, and math. The program exposes students to fields that most do not experience until college, preparing them for an in-demand, male-dominated S.T.E.M. job market. Mercy pairs classroom studies with community partnerships and extended day opportunities to provide its students with the best experience possible. Program highlights include building and programming robots to test solutions to real-world problems, collaborating to build life-size autonomous vehicles, conducting forensic investigations, simulating infectious disease testing and diagnosis, practicing genetic screening with DNA equipment used in the field, debating privacy law while designing, building, and coding fully functional drones, participating in paleontological studies with college professors in the field, exploring prosthetic prototypes and simulating surgical interventions, and uncovering never-before-seen waterways and marine wildlife in local cave systems using submersible robots.

About Kentucky Science Center (KYScienceCenter.org) Kentucky Science Center is a nonprofit educational institution that encourages people of all ages to do science in engaging, educational and entertaining ways to inspire a lifetime of learning. Designated the “State Science Center of Kentucky” by the 2002 Kentucky General Assembly, Kentucky Science Center features interactive exhibits and engaging programs for children, families and adults. Kentucky Science Center is committed to growing a scientifically literate community that investigates, questions, and challenges.

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