NEW YORK – Stroll into Hogwarts, visit the Gryffindor common room and see Harry Potter’s bed in the dormitory he shared with Ron Weasley in a new exhibition at Discovery Times Square. The hundreds of artifacts, dozens of costumes, props and furniture from the film franchise used in “Harry Potter, The Exhibition” will transport fans of the boy wizard to the world where Harry, Hermione and Ron battle the evil Lord Voldemort.
Stretch out in Hagrid’s oversized easy chair in the hut he shares with his dog Fang before creeping into the Forbidden Forest inhabited by unicorns, centaurs and Thestrals. Sit beneath the floating candles of the Great Hall, where the sorting ceremony, feasts and Yule Balls are held. Even those visitors not familiar with the JK Rowling books — a publishing phenomenon credited with introducing a new generation to reading — and the blockbuster film franchise based on them, are bound to be impressed by the artistry and detail of the more than 200 artifacts and props in the show.
“It’s like your day at Hogwarts,” said Eddie Newquist, the chief creative officer for Las-Vegas based Global Experience Specialists, Inc. (GES). “You feel like you stepped into the movie”. The exhibition, which was years in the making and includes items from the final film, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2” which is to be released in July, is in New York until September 5, the final stop on its U.S. tour before moving overseas.
“We wanted to give fans something they have never seen before,” said Newquist. “There is no better way to celebrate the imagination and creativity of the Harry Potter film series than to actually walk among the iconic costume and props that helped bring the world of the film to life.” Divided into several sections, the 14,000 sq ft (1,301 sq meter) exhibit covers all aspects of Harry’s magical world and his adventures with Ron and Hermione.
The portrait gallery where the painting of The Fat Lady guards the entrance to the Gryffindor common room is recreated and the contents of Harry’s trunk — his glasses, family photo album and acceptance letter to Hogwarts — are displayed. Interactive displays in the Herbology class and in the section on Quidditch, the most popular wizard sport, also enable visitors to feel part of Harry’s world.
“It is all real. They are all the things used on the sets,” Newquist said.
