Did you anxiously wait at your eleventh birthday for a snowy white owl to arrive with your acceptance letter to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Did you feel disappointment when it never came? Well, don’t fret. There’s still an opportunity for you to unleash your inner witch or wizard! Harry Potter: The Exhibition opened earlier this week at Discovery Times Square. From the moment that you stand outside on West 44thStreet and see the Weasley’s Flying Ford Anglia sticking out of the building (à la Hard Rock Café style), you know that once entering the exhibit you will be transported to Hogwarts!
At the start of the exhibit, you are “sorted” into either Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin by the actual sorting hat used in the first film. The voice of the hat has even recorded a special message for each of the houses for the museum, so it’s truly authentic! After learning the house where you belong, you enter the next room which has a series of screens playing clips from the first six-and-a-half movies. At the end of the clip, a curtain opens and steam comes pouring out from around…the actual Hogwarts Express. Continue on your journey and you find that you have officially entered “Hogwarts.”
The portraits move. The Fat Lady sings. And you find yourself in the Gryffindor Common Room, set up exactly as it appears in the movies. Here are Hermione and Ron’s casual clothes are as well as the drapes that cover the walls, wizardry money, and wands. There’s even the actual list of signed names that belong to “Dumbledore’s Army” and Hermione’s Time Turner! After the common room, you enter the Gryffindor Boy’s Dormitory where you can see Harry and Ron’s actual beds used in the first film (before they outgrew them and needed to make new beds) along with their uniforms, casual clothes, Harry’s invisibility cloak, and the golden egg from the Triwizard Tournament. Both Harry and Ron’s school trunks are also in the dormitory portion of the exhibit and are filled with actual props that span across all of the movies. The Marauder’s Map, Harry’s photo album, glasses, and acceptance letter to Hogwarts are all in his trunk and a Quiddich magazine, t-shirt, and howler are in Ron’s trunk.
The next stop is the Hogwart’s Classes section featuring props from such classes as Herbology, Divination, Potions, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. The Herbology section features Mandrakes that were actually in the second movie. The Divination portion has Professor Trelawney’s robes, crystal balls (some of which are actually made of rubber so that they could roll down the stairs in the fifth film, but had to be specially made so that they would not bounce!), and the cup with the tea leaves of the grim. Professor Snape’s robes as well as cauldrons and bubbling potions can be found in the Potions “classroom.” Defense Against the Dark Arts with Gilderoy Lockhart features a Cornish Pixie,
a portrait of Lockhart painting a portrait of himself, several photographs of himself, and his examinations filled with questions about his own life. Professor Lupin’s section features the Wardrobe that stored the Boggart and the giant Jack-in-the-Box. Professor Umbridge’s pink office houses her collection of kitten plates, the special quill and parchment where Harry had to write “I must not tell lies,” and, of course, her pink drapes and furniture.
Textbooks from all of these classes that are used by the principle characters as well as novels that they read are all located here too. And, a little known fact, is that all of the books were actually written! The Life and Times of Albus Dumbledore by Rita Skeeter is filled with stories about Dumbledore’s life and photographs of actor Michael Gambon! Even the textbooks are filled with recipes for potions, instructions on how to transfigure, or guides on how to read tea-leaves!
After some hectic class work, it’s time to play! The Quiddich area features robes from several different teams as well as Harry’s Nimbus 2000, and the Quiddich crate containing the Golden Snitch, a Quaffle, two Bludgers, and a bat. There are also various scarves and programs from the Quiddich World Cup.
After a rousing game of Quiddich, where is the best place to go? Hagrid’s Hut of course! In the exact dimensions of the real Hagrid’s Hut (which is actually still sitting in England!), one can find the real life-sized model of Buckbeak the Hippogriff which was used by the animation team. Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s casual clothing that they wear in the third film are set-up near the executioner and a pumpkin-headed scarecrow and enormous pumpkins from Hagrid’s field. The Monster Book of Monsters, dinosaur egg, and giant chair are in the hut, but perhaps what is most striking is Hagrid’s costume. Turns out that the size of Hagrid was not a trick of the eye or the product film editing, but instead Robbie Coltrane had a stunt-double that was seven feet who was featured in all of the full-body shots of Hagrid with Coltrane‘s head transposed onto his body!
So far all we have seen is the “good” side of the wizarding world, but as you enter the Forbidden Forest, things are significantly darker and the mist in the air is grim. One of the centaurs, the Hungarian horntail Dragon, a baby Thestral, and an Acromantula can all be found lurking around the forest. The Dark Forces are represented by the Angel of Death statue that is in the graveyard when Voldemort is brought back to human form.
An actual Dementor from Azkaban eerily sways above a pair of Death Eaters and the petrified Colin Creevey. Lord Voldemort’s wand and Tom Riddle’s Dairy covered in ink with the Basilisk Fang are also here. Professor Quirrell, the Mirror of Erised, and the Sorcerer’s Stone are in the Dark Forces exhibit set up as they are in the lair protected by Fluffy.
The final portion of the exhibit is the Great Hall of Hogwarts. On the way into the hall, wanted posters and Educational Decress by Umbridge can be found hanging on the walls. Once inside there is a long table covered with games, candies, and O.W.L exams. The Triwizard Cup and items from the Yule Ball and dress robes worn by Harry, Ron, Hermione, Cho Chang, Cedric Diggory, Dumbledore, and McGonagall’s are also in the Great Hall. The exhibit ends with Dobby the house-elf, Fawkes, Dumbledore’s phoenix, and the sword of Godric Gryffindor: three of the most iconic symbols throughout the series of films.
Keeping the exhibit interactive was a main goal of its creators. In the Herbology section, for instance, there is a row of potted Mandrakes that guests can pull out and hear an actual scream. The Quiddich area also has a separate arena where patrons are encouraged to throw Quaffles into actual goals. The innate attention to detail to bring these creations of J.K. Rowling’s imagination to life is striking. From the minute perfection of writing in textbooks to the carvings on the wands to the intricacy of the costuming, everything is exactly as it appears in the wizarding world of Harry Potter. Harry Potter: The Exhibition is a great display for mega-fans of the film series as well as those who want to see the inner makings of a movie’s props, costuming, and scenery and be transported to another world while doing so.
To order tickets, and for more information, visit http://www.discoverytsx.com/exhibitions/harry-potter
(and if you are a die-hard Harry fan, make sure to read this as well!)