All Aboard the Hogwarts Express!
I am quite looking forward to this Friday/Saturday at Midnight, when the new Harry Potter book is released. I think the presentation of the book (a la Barnes and Noble), however, will leave something to be desired.
When the last book came out, I had just graduated from High School. I was very (and of course still am) into science, and volunteered for my school's chemistry department's "Magic Show" at the event. Before I describe the highlight of the show, let me describe the release party.
Duluth has a building that is called The Depot. There is a community theatre/stage attached at one end, Duluth-area history museum in the building itself, and a train museum in the basement. Now, I'm not talking little model trains in a sterilized room--I'm talking the original, huge engines that used to run up and down the tracks in and out of Duluth. Furthermore, the floor in this part of the museum is cobbled and the entire level is reminiscent of something that you might find in a romantic movie of the early 1900's. In essence, it has the perfect ambiance for a Harry Potter party. The day of the party, banners displaying the crests of the different dormitories of Hogwarts were unfurled over the various paths meandering around the train engines. A lady from the local aviary brought a live owl. Finally, all the books were loaded on a caboose that was to be backed up into the museum at the stroke of midnight. What a show!
Anyways, that fateful night two summers ago I was stationed at the Magic Show display. With the guidance of our teacher, myself and a couple of students performed some basic chemistry gimmicks to entertain those in line or milling around. Children clamored up to the table, waiting for the next potion to change color or the next flash of light.
Ah yes, flash of light.
There's a trick where you can soak cotton balls in a chemical (of what nomenclature escapes me), let it dry for later use, and then make it disappear in a harmless, hand-held fireball when a heated object touched it. My object was a Wand (read: glass stirring rod) that I surreptitiously heated using a torch moments before. But alas, science only goes so far. You need to be in your best game as a performer, and I neglected to think up a name for the gimmick before hand.
A child speaks up.
"What are they called!"
I improvise.
"Uhm...why, these are Dragon Balls!"
Then, I feel a snap in my head as I realized what I just said. My teacher, over in a corner, became wide-eyed. Giggles emanated from the gaggle of children and the parents in the back row shook their heads in shocked bemusement.
I've been relegated as an example to the student volunteers of this year's release.
When the last book came out, I had just graduated from High School. I was very (and of course still am) into science, and volunteered for my school's chemistry department's "Magic Show" at the event. Before I describe the highlight of the show, let me describe the release party.
Duluth has a building that is called The Depot. There is a community theatre/stage attached at one end, Duluth-area history museum in the building itself, and a train museum in the basement. Now, I'm not talking little model trains in a sterilized room--I'm talking the original, huge engines that used to run up and down the tracks in and out of Duluth. Furthermore, the floor in this part of the museum is cobbled and the entire level is reminiscent of something that you might find in a romantic movie of the early 1900's. In essence, it has the perfect ambiance for a Harry Potter party. The day of the party, banners displaying the crests of the different dormitories of Hogwarts were unfurled over the various paths meandering around the train engines. A lady from the local aviary brought a live owl. Finally, all the books were loaded on a caboose that was to be backed up into the museum at the stroke of midnight. What a show!
Anyways, that fateful night two summers ago I was stationed at the Magic Show display. With the guidance of our teacher, myself and a couple of students performed some basic chemistry gimmicks to entertain those in line or milling around. Children clamored up to the table, waiting for the next potion to change color or the next flash of light.
Ah yes, flash of light.
There's a trick where you can soak cotton balls in a chemical (of what nomenclature escapes me), let it dry for later use, and then make it disappear in a harmless, hand-held fireball when a heated object touched it. My object was a Wand (read: glass stirring rod) that I surreptitiously heated using a torch moments before. But alas, science only goes so far. You need to be in your best game as a performer, and I neglected to think up a name for the gimmick before hand.
A child speaks up.
"What are they called!"
I improvise.
"Uhm...why, these are Dragon Balls!"
Then, I feel a snap in my head as I realized what I just said. My teacher, over in a corner, became wide-eyed. Giggles emanated from the gaggle of children and the parents in the back row shook their heads in shocked bemusement.
I've been relegated as an example to the student volunteers of this year's release.
"ma'am"
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