Happy 20th Anniversary, Harry Potter!

In commemoration of the 1997 publication of, Harry Potter and the Philospher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling, the Doucette Library of Teaching Resources has conjured a bewitching “Cabinet of Curiosities” to enchant fans and non-fans, alike.

A small corner of the library displays three, brightly painted boxes (Go, Gryffindor!) with various sized openings that showcase artifacts from the Doucette’s collection that have been given Harry Potter-esque backstories. Some examples: The Cursed Belt has been written up as a device of revenge that must be used cautiously as both the cursee as well as the curser could end up with an unwanted muffin top. In fact, this is 5lbs of replica fat that can be strapped around the waist and would likely be used in health or science classrooms. Another example is Insta-Cow. This plastic, brown and white toy taken from the Doucette’s farm animal kit, becomes a way of conjuring a cow by adding a drop or two of milk for a full cow. Or add chocolate milk for a chocolate cow. Or half and half cream for ½ a cow. A replica 16th century, French playing card becomes a portkey for time travel.

There are 83 artifacts filling the cabinets but not all of them have write ups. A number of them extend an invitation for students to create their own Harry Potter-esque descriptions.

Besides celebrating the 20th anniversary, this also becomes a way to demonstrate to student-teachers from the Werklund School of Education, ways of using space within classrooms. This type of display could be replicated, artifacts derived from home or school and children allowed to use their imaginations to create their own magical devices.

The Cabinet of Curiosities has been set up in the Doucette Library of Teaching Resources, EDC 370 and will be up until October 9th.