This account was written by Jerri Chase, HP4GUs (Harry Potter for Grown ups)
Do we have any Havenites in or near Chicago? What did you think?



I attended Harry Potter the Exhibition at the Museum of Science and Industry
in Chicago on Wednesday August 12, 2009 with my sister Mary. There was a
Flying Ford Anglia in the main lobby of the museum, and that was the only
thing I was able to photograph, as they didn't allow photos to be taken
inside the Exhibition. We paid an additional $5 for the "audio tour", which
had comments from various people involved in the production of the movies.
Not the actors, but producers, directors, set designers, costume designers,
etc. We both were glad that we had done this. Throughout the Exhibition,
there were flat screen TV's showing clips from the various Harry Potter
movies, relevant to the items on display in that area.

I got our timed admission tickets for late in the day, shortly before the
museum closed, but before the after hours admissions, when people could get
in by only paying the HP Exhibition entry fee, without paying general
admission to the Museum itself. Probably because of this, instead of the
groups of 20 to 30 or more I had seen being admitted in one time slot
earlier in the day and the group of 20 or so we found waiting to get in as
we left, we were in a small group. There were the two of us, a French
couple and a typical family of four.

After they let us in, the experience started with a "sorting". There was a
stool with the Sorting Hat on it, and a staffer asks for volunteers to be
sorted. She then asked each volunteer which house was their favorite, and
each of us who were sorted said "Gryffindor" and surprise, that is the house
each of us was sorted into! The small boy, the French husband and I were
the ones sorted in our group.

Then, with a wave of the hand of the staff member, the wooden doors opened
into a smoke/steam/fog? filled room which had a "Hogwarts Express" on one
side. We were welcomed by another staff person and usurered into the main
portion of the Exhibition, past a Sirius Black wanted poster on our left.

We then passed a series of portraits, some moving including the "Fat Lady",
to get to the "Gryffindor Common Room" portion of the Exhibition. There
were robes worn by various cast members from various movies, a Quidditch
Board Game, a Mimbulus Mimblotonia, a copy of the Quibbler, wands, Neville's
dancing shoes, the Time Turner, the parchment that members of the DA signed,
the Marauder's Map, Harry's glasses, the box which contained the chocolates
which had been spiked with love potion from Harry Potter and the Half Blood
Prince, wizard money. I didn't notice the money when I was going through
the exhibit. There is a better view in the catalog. They made the coins
smaller than I had expected from the books. (The golden galleons were not
"the size of coach wheels" as Mr. Roberts said at the World Cup!)

Across from the Common Room was Harry's dorm room. It had two beds, Harry's
and Ron's, the Golden Egg, trunks, etc. And The Howler. I especially
enjoyed this, as I noticed that the font used for the words that Mrs.
Weasley shouted in the movie were in a strident looking italics, the nice
words at the end to congratulate Ginny on being sorted into Gryffindor were
in a calm looking non-italic font! (I may have some of the stuff from the
Common Room and Dorm Room mixed up in my head, as I went back and forth
between the two sections.)

Then there was a section that they called "Hogwarts Classes". There was a
Herbology section, with Professor Sprout's robes and ear muffs, various
Herbology stuff and the chance to "re-pot Mandrakes", in which visitors
could pull a Mandrake from the pot and the Mandrake screamed. They won't
come all the way out, so you can never put them into a different pot, but
sort of fun all the same.

Divination included Trewlany's robes, crystal ball and tea cups, one of
which contained a "grim" [or sheep? wink ]

A biggish section was devoted to Potions, with Slughorn's robes and Snape's,
a box of Bezor's, a cauldron, and a copy of Advanced Potions Making (but I
much prefer the one on the UK adult book to the one they used in the movie!)

A Lockhart section contained a couple of his robes, a Cornish Pixie, his big
self portrait, lots of photos of Lockhart, a pretty complete collection of
his books with him on the cover, the "quiz" he handed out at the start of
class, etc.

A Lupin section had his robes, the wardrobe, which rattles inside, the Jack
in the Box, etc.

Then came Umbridge's office, with kitten plates, her pink, fluffy robes from
the beginning of the movie, the text book, Dark Arts Defense - Basics for
Beginners, and the quill that etched Harry's hand and the parchment with "I
must not tell lies" written on it red.

This was followed by a big section on Quidditch, where we got to play with
Quaffles, and toss them through goal hoops, although we didn't get to do it
riding on brooms! I loved the feel of the balls, they felt old and played
with and weathered through lots of wet practice sessions and games. In a
case were a full set of balls, including the Golden Snitch and a Beater's
Bat. Lots of robes from various games, the World Cup and Ron's keeper robes
from HBP, plus many more. Probably 8 sets of robes from different games,
with banners and broomsticks and prize cups, etc.

The Forbidden Forest/Hagrid's Hut section had one of the real highlights of
the exhibition. In the Pumpkin Patch was Buckbeak, each feather separate
and distinct. There was a staff member standing near there to make sure
that no one touched, as he was close enough to touch. If I could have had
one photo from the exhibition, it would have been to have someone take my
photo with my hand out toward Buckbeak, like Harry did in the movie. Also
in the Pumpkin Patch set were the robes Ron, Hermonie and Harry wore during
the Buckbeak activities and also the executioner's robes. The Forbidden
forest contained a pair of centaurs, an acromantula, a baby thestral and the
head of the Hungarian Horntail. Inside Hagrid's Hut we got to sit in Hagrid's
chair. (Huge!) There was also a rocking dragon egg, a copy of The Monster
Book of Monsters, and lots of miscellaneous oversized Hagrid type stuff.

Then we moved on to the Dark Forces area. They had Voldemort's robes from
his "rebirthing", a dementor, the "Angel of Death" from the grave yard,
death Eater robes, Voldemort's wand, Lucius and Draco Malfoy robes,
Belletrix's prison uniform, the Pawn and Rook (castle) from the chess match,
the Mirror of Erised, Riddle's diary complete with fang, Kreacher and a
Petrified Colin Creevy.

Somewhere there was a pre-freedom Dobby, but I forget where.

The final area of the Exhibition was the Great Hall. Outside the room that
represents the Great Hall, there were a lot of Educational Decrees and
banners for the four houses. Also, I think some more portraits. The doors
were elaborately carved, although not quite as large as the doors to the
"real" great hall.

Inside, if you looked up, you saw the floating candles to light the room.
There were a number of cases with various stuff in them. These included a
case with exam papers, for OWL's and Umbridge's form she used to evaluate
the teachers. The OWL questions were wonderfully disorganized and
whimsical, while Umbridge's form was very organized and rigid. Also
Hogwarts versions of "cliff notes" sorts of things, and some paper airplane
interoffice memo's from the Ministry of Magic. There was a case with stuff
from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and Hogsmead shops, especially sweets.

A big case in the middle of the room contained food from a "feast". I
especially loved the "puddings" or dessert section. The best one was a top
hat with two rabbits and some flowers coming out, the whole thing made of
various sorts of dark, milk, and white chocolate. (Well, plastic probably,
but it LOOKED like chocolate!) There was another cake that looked like a
lily pad with a frog on it, and several others. (And NO picture of this in
the catalog! BOO HOO!!!) I will have to watch the movies and try to freeze
the frames during the pudding course of the feasts and see what I can see.

They had the Goblet of fire and it's casket and the papers with champion's
names, lots of robes that were worn at the Yule Ball, especially Dumbledore's,
McGonnagall's, also those of Harry, Ron, Hermonie, Cedric, Victor, Cho and
the outfits that Flur and Krum arrived in, at the beginning of the movie.
In addition they had a set of Richard Harris Dumbledore's robes, very rich
looking.

And, they had Dumbledore's wand. The design of Dumbledore's wand was one of
the topics on the audio tour. Apparently they developed 4 or 5 potential
wands for Dumbledore, back in the first movie, then decided which one they
would use. It occurred to me while looking and listening that back then
they had no idea how important Dumbledore's wand would be. They didn't know
that they needed a design that could be "the death stick", one of the
Deathly Hallows, unless JKR told them, which I doubt. Although, she was
heavily involved in the first movie, and I suppose it is possible that she
gave a vote as to which design(s) she though best.

Also, for some reason, robes belonging to Sirius Black were here, even
though he never appeared in the Great Hall, that I can remember, also Fawkes
was in the Great Hall, near the sets of Dumbledore robes.

Then, of course, we exited through the gift shop! I spent a solid half hour
looking through the selections and deciding which items I HAD to buy.
Before we started the tour my sister and I were both exhausted, from two
full days of museums, etc. But during the exhibit we both forgot our aches
and pains and sore feet.