There’s a new Harry Potter Exhibition beginning to tour: Harry Potter’s World: Renaissance Science, Magic and Medicine should be an interesting exhibit. Originally on display only at the National Library of Medicine, it was offered in conjunction with the ALA on a very limited basis for libraries and institutions that entered a competition for the rights to host it.
The original winners are here, but apparently the demand for the exhibit was so great, they’ve created a few copies of it, and there are now plans for the exhibit to run at multiple locations straight into 2012. That schedule is here. (Note that this “full schedule” is missing the dates of the original winners of said competition, so check those dates here.) You can find Harry Potter’s World on Facebook and Twitter.
I’m finalizing details to speak at the exhibition when it’s at the Galesburg Public Library (Illinois) in June 2010.
Here’s a description of the event from the website:
IN 1997, BRITISH AUTHOR J. K. ROWLING INTRODUCED THE WORLD TO HARRY POTTER AND A LITERARY PHENOMENON WAS BORN. Millions of readers have followed Harry to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where he discovers his heritage, encounters new plants and animals, and perfects his magical abilities. Although a fantasy story, the magic in the Harry Potter books is partially based on Renaissance traditions that played an important role in the development of Western science, including alchemy, astrology, and natural philosophy. Incorporating the work of several 15th- and 16th-century thinkers, the seven-part series examines important ethical topics such as the desire for knowledge, the effects of prejudice, and the responsibility that comes with power. This exhibition, using materials from the National Library of Medicine, explores Harry Potter’s world and its roots in Renaissance magic, science, and medicine.
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This looks very much like the exhibit I saw at Azkatraz, Travis. If it is the same, it’s very much worth the time to go through and look at the different parts of the display.
Yes, Fricka, it’s the same. I just didn’t have a chance to look at it during the whirlwind that was Azkatraz!
Hey, it’s going to be in Moscow (mos’-coe), ID! That’s only an hour or so from Spokane! Yahoo!!
We went to the premiere last night in Boston…what an amazing exhibition. If you are a HP fan, this is a must-see exhibit. If you are not yet one, you will be after seeing the exhibit
Go here to read our write-up on RainyDayMagazine:
http://www.rainydaymagazine.com/RDM2
Sorry about the bad link…here is the full URL….
http://www.rainydaymagazine.com/RDM2009/Home/October/Week4/RDMHomeOct2309.htm#MOS_HarryPotter
RainyDayInterns, that’s actually a different exhibition than the one I linked. That one has been running for a while; it started first in Chicago. I plan to make a trip up to Boston to see it before it leaves, and maybe to find a few places to speak while I’m there.