The first SCIENCE ON TAP event in Blacksburg, VA took place on April 24, 2017 and featured Dr. Bill Hopkins, director of the Global Change Center and professor of fish and wildlife conservation. Bill showed the crowd a real live hellbender, described his research on this threatened salamander species, and encouraged audience members to pose for hellbender photos.

The event was organized by Dr. Katie Burke, digital editor at American Scientist and an advisory board member for the Virginia Tech Center for Communicating Science.