Harry Potter!

Last week Adrienne and I made the best possible use of having President's Day off from classes. We spent the afternoon at the Harry Potter Exhibition at the Boston Museum of Science. This is a touring exhibition that has been in town for several months and will be leaving after this coming weekend. The exhibit includes many costumes and props actually used in the filming of the Harry Potter movies and is a Potter nerd's dream come true.

The main hallway of the museum was all decked out for the occasion. Sadly, no photography was allowed inside the exhibit, but I'll do my best to paint a picture with my words and bring you into the experience!

First of all, there was a lot of waiting. In order to keep the crowd size under control, admission was timed, and a new group was let in every five minutes. Before our group could enter, three children were sorted. I should have volunteered, but I wasn't sure if they would take someone over four feet tall.

Once inside the doors, we watched a video montage and, while we were distracted, a wall rose behind us to reveal the Hogwarts Express, steam rising from it, announcing our arrival at Hogwarts. We walked past a wall of portraits, through the doorway to Gryffindor tower with the Fat Lady singing and into the main exhibit hall.

First were costumes and props belonging to Hermione, Neville and Ginny, and in a corner by themselves, Harry and Ron. I was most impressed by seeing everyone's wands. They're all so detailed, and even Neville's has a fancy twist in the handle. (I thought very hard about buying a replica of Hermione's beautiful wand, but they were ridiculously expensive.) Harry and Ron's fancy beds were there as well. After the kids was a row of professors and their associated props, prominently featuring the various Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers. Snap's robes were there, as well as Lupin's (along with the mirrored boggart cabinet), Lockhart's finery and Umbridge's pink nightmare. Trelawney was sadly absent, but in Professor Sprout's corner was a row of mandrakes that visitors were encouraged to pull up out of their pots to a chorus of squealing.

Following the academic area was a quidditch pitch, with uniforms from the World Cup, Harry's Firebolt and the chest of quidditch balls. Also, there was another interactive exhibit where we could play quidditch! Well, sort of. We got to throw quaffles through hoops as if we were chasers in a game, and I got mine through the farthest hoop on the first try!

Next was Hagrid's hut, with various magical creatures surrounding it, including Buckbeak the Hippogrif, who I have always wanted to ride and was sorely tempted to touch. The last thing we were allowed to touch was Hagrid's chair. The thing is absolutely enormous! I could curl up in it quite comfortably and take a nap. It even puts to shame the armchairs in the basement of Mears Library back at USF, and that's saying something!

After the magical creatures of the Dark Forest was a display of evil characters. I hadn't realized before that the dementors have no legs but only a disturbingly long spine that becomes a creep-tastic tail. There was fog in the air, and a bit of wind making Voldemort and his Death Eaters' robes flutter menacingly.

From there we passed through a hall full of Umbridge's notices into the Great Hall itself. The hall was decorated for the Yule Ball, and everyone's party attire was on display. Hermione's dress is actually prettier in person (I think Adrienne should get one just like it!), and Ron's really isn't so bad. Up close I could tell it was actually very well made, and the lace seemed less offensive. Dumbledore and McGonnogal's robes and wands were there, as well as Sirius' nicer clothes from Order of the Pheonix and Fawkes, who is larger than I had originally thought.

And of course, the last place we were sent was the gift shop, full of all things Harry Potter. In the end, I bought myself a plastic time-turner (the nice gold one was far too expensive), and Adrienne got a Dumbledore's Army t-shirt. And on the way out we took pictures by the only items we could--a poster advertising the exhibit and the chess piece Ron sat on in the Sorcerer's Stone, which has been on display in the museum lobby for several months.


Look, I finally got my Hogwart's letter! I'm ditching library school to go learn magic!


And Adrienne is still too giddy to do anything but grin!

I feel that this summary is sorely lacking, and I wish I could just go back and take you all with me to experience it for yourselves. If the exhibit travels anywhere near you, definitely go check it out!

-Kim