Hogwarts to Admit Muggles!

It's been a busy past few days for the LibrariYAn, conferencing first in Chicago for Teach For America and then in Long Branch, NJ for the NJLA Conference. Thus the lack of posts. But now I'm back, and what do you know, Hogwarts is headed to Chicago! Thank goodness I'm headed back there myself in June. I'll be busy, but I think I can certainly fit in a visit to Hogwarts!

It's true! Beginning today and running through September 27th, Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry. The exhibit, produced by Exhibitgroup/Giltspur, takes visitors through a series of Hogwarts hot spots including the dorms, classrooms and forbidden forest, features a myriad of props and costumes from the Harry Potter movies. Artifacts from the sorting hat to a train car on the Hogwart's Express to Voldemort's wand are on display. Neato!

The bad news is that most of the exhibit is "look but don't touch," with small items enclosed in glass and others roped off. Happily, a few items are to be played with, including a baby mandrake (no word on whether a scream so painful that it makes you pass out will be emitted) and a chair in Hagrid's house where you can take a load off. For a preview of the exhibit, check out this video, which comes to us via the USA Today website:



Admission to the exhibit is separate from museum entry. Check the museum's website for the deets. Word on the street is that in the coming weeks, additional locations for the exhibit will be announced. Here's hoping for Hogwarts to come to you!