Thank you so much to everyone who came out to see our exhibition, Harry Potter and the Rain City, over the course of the fall. The exhibition came down at the beginning of this week, but the love for the Wizarding World continues (as evidenced by the release today of the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them movie trailer)!
As we bid farewell to Harry (for now), a graduate student from UBC’s School of Library, Archival and Information Studies wanted to update us about a couple of Harry Potter-themed programs he coordinated. The student, Hiller Goodspeed, completed a professional experience with RBSC this term that included working on the design components of the exhibition (including the awesome Marauder’s Map) and developing programming, including two programs for the Vancouver Writers’ Exchange at Queen Alexandria Elementary School in East Vancouver.
Here’s what Hiller had to say about the programs:
The Writers’ Exchange regularly runs in- and after-school literacy programs at elementary schools around the city as well as at the Writers’ Exchange in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
In one of the programs, younger students were challenged to write their own book of spells and decorate colourful wands to cast them with. By the end of the day, the classroom of Muggles had been transformed into spell-zinging magic folk.
In another program run with the Comic Book Club, students created comics which were derivative of the Harry Potter book series. Students were asked to fit in as much content as they could onto a single page, in the style of illustrator Lucy Knisley’s a-page-a-book Harry Potter posters.
Both programs were successful and well-received by the students and volunteers.
Thanks so much, Hiller!