In his senior year at IU, Sean Buehler finally found the key to hitting the books while hitting the bars. The answer to this classic college predicament lies in his newly founded series Science on Tap, which fills attendees’ minds with a bit of knowledge and their cups with a bit of beer.
“You roll in, grab a beer, get some food, chat a while, and then the discussion starts,” Buehler said. “We wanted this to be a comfortable atmosphere for anyone so that you could walk in without any science experience and leave two hours later feeling like they have a basic grasp of the subject.”
Once a month, the Big Woods Bloomington patio fills its chairs with the expecting crowd: a gaggle of physics enthusiasts, medical school hopefuls, burgeoning chemists and really anyone with an affinity for the scientific world.
An invited IU professor or guest expert then introduces the evening’s general concept, which Buehler said has so far ranged from the science of the human mind to the mysteries of an expanding universe. The crowd and speaker then engage in a lively dialogue, one that may at first seem to belong in an IU lecture hall.
The only difference, and perhaps an important one, is that this lecture’s students come to class with a Quaff ON! Brewing Company amber ale in hand.
“I am a huge beer fan. Well, it’s pretty much only beer for me, and because of that I like really good, unique beers and enjoying finding interesting beers,” Buehler said. “I think that the Quaff ON! has some of the best beer in town, which is why I go there probably more than I should and why it has a great atmosphere for our talks.”
The event’s concept came to Buehler from a similar program called Science Café, a weekly discussion conducted by the University of Nebraska Medical Center and recorded as a podcast for a wider audience.
After becoming a regular fan of the podcast, Buehler said he used his network of friends, classmates and professors to appropriate the idea to a Bloomington context.
“Sean is very proactive and passionate about promoting the event through his network of mutual friends, plus Science on Tap has a sweet logo,” said IU senior George Armstrong, who attends the series’ events.
“There are hundreds of discussions and lectures going around IU every week, but ours is unique in that it is pretty much available to the everyman,” he said. “I wanted people to not feel overwhelmed by what’s being presented to them and so far I’d say we’ve been pretty successful in that.”
Two sessions later, Buehler said the group is only growing in numbers — the September event welcomed 115 participants — and even has claimed its own time on WFHB’s Standing Room Only program.
As for now, Buehler said he is making plans to actualize the Science on Tap’s destiny: a discussion on the science of beer Oct. 25.
“It’s going to be one for the books,” he said.
