As folks entered the Contemporary Museum for its winter party, they were greeted with a cacophony of electronic noise, which sounded like the soundtrack of a 1950s sci-fi B-movie. Michael Trigilio, Lee Montgomery and Jon Brumit, of the Neighborhood Public Radio artist collective, showed party guests how to tweak various contraptions in order to create the strange sounds.

"I love it. Did you try it? The artists show you how to use all these little transmitters," said museum board member Marcy Sagel.

"We're hoping to make a lot of noise," Trigilio said.

Interactive art is at the center of the museum's latest exhibition, "Participation Nation: Art Invites Input."

"All of the installations are inviting audience participation into the piece," explained museum executive director Irene Hofmann.

Case in point? A table was parked at the end of a skinny hallway lined with people viewing an installation of faux dollar bills. At the table, Christina Mayhew, a Kennedy Krieger Institute teacher, Becky Dunlop, a Johns Hopkins nurse, and her husband, Bruce Dunlop, Bruce Dunlop Lighting principal, colored their own versions of the dollar bill.

The party later migrated to the nearby Peabody Court Hotel. A big-screen TV had been set up so Ravens fans wouldn't miss the playoff game against the Indianapolis Colts.

"Over a hundred people are coming. For a night opposite the Ravens, that's a tremendous turnout," said Deborah Jennings, DLA Piper partner.

The evening's signature drink was not Ravens' purple. The Blue Lagoon - made of blue Curacao, lemonade and vodka - almost glowed in neon turquoise. Nonetheless, bartender and museum assistant Chris Attenborough was ready with a football association.

"It is very reminiscent of Gatorade," he said with a smile.

Sloane Brown can be contacted at sloane@sloanebrown.com.