Harry Potter: The Exhibition at The Museum of Science, Boston

I wouldn’t ordinarily bore people with what-I-did-with-my-kids-today stories…but…this one is a little bit book related! We went to the Museum of Science in Boston yesterday to see the Harry Potter exhibit. This is not a boring “let’s look at things hanging on the wall” museum exhibit. This is a 10,000 square foot installation of over 200 props and costumes from the Harry Potter movies. You can see Harry and Ron’s 4 poster beds, the golden egg, Hagrid’s table and chair and my personal favorite….the fat lady portrait! She  actually moves and talks and tries to sing to break a wine glass!  You will walk into a Great Hall-type setting and see some gorgeous actual costumes worn at the Yule Ball by Hermione, Dumbledore, and a particularly beautiful gown worn by Prof. McGonagall.

The exhibit was definitely worth the trip. The installation was amazing. You can walk into Hagrid’s Hut and the Great Hall and really have the feeling that you are in the movie. I loved seeing all of the nauseating kitty cat plates decorating Dolores Umbridge’s office (complete with her Pepto Bismal pink suit). You will smile at every turn through the exhibit as you see things, both large and small, you will remember. (There is a stack of books by Gilderoy Lockhart!). Oh! Buckbeak is there and he is beautiful! I saw many kids in Harry Potter costumes so feel free to join the fun.

Before you go, make sure you do the math on the price of your visit. It turned out to be cheaper for us to buy a family membership to the Museum than it was for us to use the library discount and then buy non-member tickets to Harry Potter.

Photography is not allowed in the exhibit but you can take a picture in front of the chess piece that Ron rode in the first movie. The chess piece is in the museum lobby.