Muggles, consider this your Owl. Upon visiting Harry Potter: The Exhibition, you’ll forget that it’s just another day in New York as you’re whisked away into Harry’s whimsical world of wizardry. Once the Sorting Hat places you into your Hogwarts House, you’ll enter the 14,000-square foot exhibit, which contains numerous authentic costumes and props from all seven “Potter” films. Even some of the movies’ sets, including the Gryffindor Common Room and Hagrid’s hut, are left intact for you to marvel at. And although most of the exhibition’s items are intended for just that — marveling — there are opportunities to take part in the action: you can take a seat in Hagrid’s chair (large enough for a small child to sleep in!), pull mandrakes during Herbology and practice your Quidditch skills along your journey.
The exhibition’s attention to detail is astounding and a credit to the artists on the films. From Professor Lockhart’s quizzes to O.W.L exams, from issues of The Daily Prophet to the alt-publication The Quibbler, from Ron’s frumpy Yule Ball dress robes to Cedric Diggory’s pristine Hogwarts uniform (actually worn by Robert Pattinson!), every item is meticulously made to be not just a prop in a movie, but an actual element in the everyday life of a wizard.
“One detail that always struck me was when you put the costume on it did make you feel like the character,” says Warwick Davis, who played Professor Flitwick and Griphook in the “Harry Potter” films. “To open up your robe and see a wand pocket inside, all ready for the wand — it’s those little details that make it easier to inhabit the character … It’s the people behind the scenes who this exhibition’s all about.”
Adds David Heyman, who produced every “Potter” film, “You can see that Hogwarts really did exist.”
For more information on “Harry Potter: The Exhibition,” call 866-987-9692 or visit www.discoveryts.com.
