The Houston Museum of Natural Science went uber glam on March 1 as 500-plus denizens stepped into a shimmering collision of science, style, and sophistication at the Quantum of Science Gala. Think: Bond-level intrigue with a Texas twist, shaken and stirred by black-tie elegance and philanthropic wallets.
Chaired by Dr. Mary and Ron Neal, the evening unfolded like a cinematic adventure. Guests were greeted at the Cockrell Sundial by a trio of Aston Martins — because nothing says “quantum” quite like British engineering on display. Inside, the David Caceres Quintet, arranged by Gulf Coast Entertainment, set the mood in the Grand Hall with 007-inspired melodies, including a sultry rendition of “Live and Let Die.”
Blooming Gallery transformed the museum’s iconic halls — Matter and Motion, Morian Hall of Paleontology, and Wiess Energy Hall, among others — into immersive dining spaces that celebrated natural wonder and cosmological curiosity. City Kitchen delighted with a refined menu, while The Grand Bevy kept spirits flowing with martini carts during cocktail hour and inventive post-dinner sips.
After dinner, revelers drifted to Alfred C. Glassell, Jr. Hall for a high-octane set from Scott Nicholson’s Dueling Pianos, also orchestrated by Gulf Coast Entertainment, before trying their hand at games of chance in the Casino for a Cause, brought to life by Houston Premier Casino Events.
A silent auction featured big-ticket curiosities, including a 1965 Jaguar E-Type Coupe donated by Stephanie and Frank Tsuru, and a 7-foot-tall skull cast replica of HMNS’s resident triceratops, Lane—because even dinosaurs can headline.
The museum’s president and CEO Joel A. Bartsch and wife Susanne welcomed supporters from every corner of Houston’s philanthropic galaxy. Notables such as added gravitas to the already star-studded affair. The Quantum of Science Gala raised more than $2.6 million to support HMNS’s mission of science education and public programming — proving once again that Houston knows how to make science a thing
Among Houston’s society A-listers were Michelle and Alan Smith, Bobbie Nau, Patty and T. Mark Kelly, and Monica and Fox Benton, Kelly and Bill Montgomery, Dr. Sippi and Ajay Khurana, Carolyn and Jake Sabat, Garry Tanner, Caroline and Williams, Monica and Fox Benton, Liane and Marty Phillips, Marianne and Neil Duffin, Anne and Stephen Brollier, and Carrie and Tom Field.
