CHICAGO -- It’s debatable which is more interesting: J.K. Rowling’s personal, rags-to-riches life story or the fictitious stories about her character, Harry Potter. In 1990, Rowling -- whose real name is Joanne Murray -- got the idea for her 400-million-copies-sold series while riding a train from Manchester to London. At the time, she was on welfare but within five years, Rowling had an estimated fortune of almost $800 million dollars.
Now, after writing seven Harry Potter books and the release of six films, including "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" which came out last week, Rowling’s magical world is taken to a new place with the world premiere of "Harry Potter: The Exhibition" at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, 57th Street and Lakeshore Drive.
"As the premiere venue, we are thrilled to be able to offer guests the first chance to experience the magical world of Harry Potter in a new, unique way," says David Mosena, president and CEO of the museum.
The exhibit runs through Sept. 27, 2009, and is the only Midwest stop on the exhibit’s U.S. tour. The exhibit -- which took about three years to create -- focuses primarily on the Harry Potter film series and includes 200 authentic costumes and props.
In the series, Potter attends the 1,000-year-old Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where there are four schools: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. At the beginning of the school year, the "Sorting Hat" divides new students into one of the four schools based on their personalities. This ritual is the opening experience at the exhibit, too, and a guest or two are chosen from the audience for "sorting."
Then, guests are ushered into a screening room to watch an eight-screen montage of the Harry Potter film series. At the end of the footage, a train whistle blasts and one of the walls rises to reveal a replica of the Hogwarts Express train, which marks the official beginning of the exhibition area.
There are seven more settings in the exhibit: the Gryffindor Common Room guarded by a "painting" of the Fat Lady; a Hogwarts’ classrooms featuring a potions area and Professor Snape’s original costume; a Quidditch area where guests can toss "Quaffles;" Hagrid’s Hut where guests meet Buckbeak; the spooky, magical Forbidden Forest; the Dark Forces that includes a Dementor and the extraordinary Great Hall during the Yule Ball celebration.
The abundance of artifacts make the exhibit a meaty Potter experience that allows even the most diehard fans to find enough to devour. For example, guests see the actual Marauder’s Map from the film "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," the Nimbus 2000 broomstick from "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone" and The Time-Turner used by character Hermione Granger in "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban." Plus, original costumes along with an actual Golden Snitch, used in Quidditch matches at Hogwarts, make the exhibit feel like one is actually stepping between the pages of the popular books.
"‘Harry Potter: the Exhibition’ truly embodies the museum’s mission of inspiring the inventive genius in everyone," says Mosena.
"Harry Potter: the Exhibition" has extended hours and is open from Monday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. The Museum of Science and Industry is open -- during the summer -- from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Admission to the museum and the Harry Pottere exhibit is $26 for adults; $25 for seniors and $19 for kids ages 3-11. After the museum closes, the cost for just the Potter exhibit is $18 for adults and $15 for kids ages 3-11.
Tickets for "Harry Potter: The Exhibition" are timed-entry and sometimes sell out, so the museum recommends guests to purchase advanced tickets by calling (773) 684-1414 or via the Web site.
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
