Would-be Jedis will duel with lightsabers atop a balance beam, and young Padawans, or Jedi trainees, will try to fend off a barrage of Nerf darts while blindfolded.

The cash bar, operated by Rococo restaurant, will look and sound like the Tatooine cantina near the beginning of “A New Hope.”

“You know that cantina band song?” Rothrock asked. “It sticks in your head. We're going to put that song on a continuous loop.”

The museum's in-house caterer is developing a variety of free hors d'oeuvres, including pita bread and hummus arranged to look like the Sarlacc pit from “Return of the Jedi.” (You remember the Sarlacc; it's that gaping maw in the Tatooine desert, a pit into which Jabba the Hutt planned to throw our heroes.) Arriving guests will be offered Darth Vader Jell-O shots.

At the end of the night, Rothrock said, “we will explode 1,000 Ping-Pong balls with liquid nitrogen. Whoever finds the special Darth Vader balls will get special prizes. Haven't determined what those are yet, but they'll get prizes.”

Doors open at 7 p.m. Thursday. Admission is $15 in advance or $20 at the door. You must be at least 21 to enter. For tickets or information, call 602-3760.