'Harry Potter' exhibit to open at Purdue library, community activities set
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A new traveling exhibit that tells the story of "Harry Potter" and its connections to Renaissance traditions and the history of science will visit Purdue University.
Purdue Libraries' John W. Hicks Undergraduate Library will host the exhibit "Harry Potter's World: Renaissance Science, Magic and Medicine" from Wednesday (March 10) through April 8.
A grand opening celebration is scheduled for 1-4 p.m. March 27 in Undergrounds, the coffee shop adjacent to the Hicks Undergraduate Library. It is free and open to the public and will include family-friendly activities.
Purdue is one of 12 libraries in the nation selected to participate in the traveling exhibition tour coordinated by the American Library Association.
"The Harry Potter book and movie series have captivated adults and children all over the world, and we're delighted to be able to bring the exhibit to Purdue," said Dawn Stahura, library assistant in the Hicks Undergraduate Library and the exhibit's on-site coordinator. "We're excited because we're partnering with organizations in Greater Lafayette on activities that will take this beyond the physical exhibit."
The West Lafayette Public Library, Tippecanoe County Arts Federation and Columbian Park Zoo in Lafayette all will host related programs. A complete listing of the events is available online at https://www.lib.purdue.edu/info/harrypotter
British author J.K. Rowling introduced the child wizard Harry Potter in 1997 with the first of what has become a seven-book series. The series set numerous sales records and has been printed in several languages. Harry Potter also reached large audiences through a series of films based on the books.
The exhibit will feature works from 15th- and 16th-century thinkers, such as naturalist Konrad Gesner, alchemist Nicolas Flamel and occultist Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettersheim, exploring their understandings of natural philosophy, medicine and magic. Exhibit panels also highlight illustrations from Renaissance texts of creatures and plants featured in Harry Potter - including basilisks, dragons, merpeople and mandrakes - and use them to explore the intersection between the novels of Renaissance thinkers, lore and practices.
Local events will include:
* Film screenings at the West Lafayette Public Library through April 23. Free.
* A coordinating art exhibit titled "Renaissance Magic: Plants, Potions and Poetry" at the Tippecanoe Arts Federation from April 2-9. Free. (Opening reception from 6-8 p.m. April 9)
* Magical Wizards Experiments with the Purdue Student Council from 2-3 p.m. March 28 at the West Lafayette Public Library, 208 W. Columbia St. Best for children ages 4-11. Free.
* "One Size Fits All Improv Comedy - Harry Potter Style!" 8 p.m. April 3, Monon Depot (Civic Theater), 313 N. Fifth
* Columbian Park Zoo Mobile presentation "Modern Day Dragons." April 11, 2 and 3 p.m., West Lafayette Public Library. Free.
Events on the Purdue campus will include:
* Presentation by Vladimir Shalaev, the Robert and Anne Burnett Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, titled "Optical Cloaking: Dream or Reality?" 3-4 p.m. March 24, Hicks Undergraduate Library, Room G-959.
* Grand opening for the "Harry Potter" exhibit at Undergrounds, 1-4 p.m. March 27. Activities and games for the whole family.
* Presentation by Susan Howard, professor of English at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, "Slaves No More: The Harry Potter Series as a Postcolonial Slave Narrative." 3-4 p.m. April 1, Hicks Undergraduate Library, Room G-959.
* "Witches, Warnings and Wildness: Myth and Magic in the New World." 3:30-4:45 p.m. April 7. Hicks Undergraduate Library, Room G-959. Presentations by graduate students in Purdue's Department of English.
The National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., organized the exhibition. The tour is coordinated by the American Library Association's Public Programs Office in Chicago. More information about the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health is available online at https://www.nlm.nih.gov
Writer: Jim Bush, 765-494-2077, jsbush@purdue.edu
Source: Dawn Stahura, 765-494-2762, stahurad@purdue.edu