Preface: I make beer, not rocket ships.
Ability: Avid tinkerer.
Project: Halloween costume for beer keg.
Goal: When a person pulls a beer tap forward to receive a pint, a simple DC motor runs for 5-10 seconds and resets.
Specifics: I'm sure I will use incorrect nomenclature here, but the simplicity of it all should validate my meanings. The drinker need only pull the tap to initiate motor. A proximity detector sound right to start with. Do these work with light, motion or heat? It may be dark, whats best?
Have: I have the motor and power and tapper...beer is a given.

Thanks.

 

What will the motor do?

 

The tap is mounted to a Frankenstein monster cutout atop the keg. When filling a beer, the motor simply spins the eyeballs in a cartoonish googly manner.

 

Cleverly located reedswitch.

If you want to add a 555 timer, so be it. It seems to me easier to just run the motor as long as the tap is pulled.

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/tutorial_info.php?tutorials_id=144

You can also use a cleverly located toggle switch instead of something like a magnetic switch.