Harry Potter NYC Exhibition Events Jan. 2019

The final weeks of the Harry Potter: A History of Magic at the New-York Historical Society are packed with exciting events for Harry Potter fans of all ages, including trivia nights, art workshops, creative writing classes, and more  exploring the Hogwarts curriculum.

Displays of why we think certain animals are magical, like owls, the history of mermaids and dragons, and more are fascinating even if you aren’t a Harry Potter fan.

The Harry Potter exhibition in NYC is in cooperation with the British Library, and includes a selection of objects not featured in the London presentation that are on view to the public for the very first time, such as actual hand-written notebooks of author J. K. Rowling, complete with editing marks.

Get tickets now for programs through the end of January 2019, when the exhibit closes after a blockbuster four-month run.

Harry Potter Talks and Social Events in January

January 5 and 6 – Storytelling 101: Oral Traditions

• An interactive workshop about the fundamentals of storytelling, including crafting a narrative and public speaking tips

January 6 – Harry Potter Book Club – First-Timers

• A welcoming bagel brunch book club for those brand new to the Wizarding World

January 7 – Growing up with Harry Potter

• An open mic for professional and amateur storytellers about their personal experiences growing up with Harry and his friends, moderated by the Story Studio

January 8 – Potions and Painting

• An entertaining, evening painting workshop complete with wine and cheese

January 9 – An Evening with Jim Dale

• Featuring the narrator of all seven Harry Potter books, as he shares how he created the voices for over 200 characters, his hilarious first day experience in the recording studio, excerpts from his Drama Desk Award-winning show Just Jim Dale, and his disastrous experiences playing the many clowns of Shakespeare

January 10 – Magic at the Library

• A night to remember spent behind the scenes at New-York Historical’s Library

January 16 – The Epic Tale of Children’s Literature

• A colorful examination of a century of writing and illustrating for young people

January 18 – The final Monthly Trivia Night

• Put your knowledge of the Wizarding World to the test, with a wide slate of outstandingprizes provided by Scholastic, Audible, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, BBC, and the NYHistory Store, along with special themed cocktails

January 19 – History of Magic in America

• A one-day course that explores magic in American culture.

January 23 – The Harry Potter Effect

• An in-depth look at the Harry Potter phenomenon and its astonishing impact on popular culture with a panel of journalists, editors, and booksellers

Harry Potter Workshops and Courses

Creating Magical Worlds: From Folklore to Fiction, a mesmerizing creative writing workshop held over the course of six sessions that focuses on creating fantastic worlds with rich settings, characters, and plot

Picturing Magic, a multi-session course that uses the exhibition as inspiration for participants to explore and create magical works of art

International History of Magic, a spelling-binding six-session course that explores magical traditions from around the world and across time, framing them within historical, cultural, and social contexts

 Harry Potter Family Programs

Family programs include History of Magic family days with hands-on activities and crafts, like decorating Hogwarts House badges and tracing the origins of historical incantations; a Harry Potter family book club; a writing workshop for young authors; a historical Hallowe’en celebration; and trivia for families. Harry Potter: A History of Magic birthday experiences are also available.

Visit harrypotter.nyhistory.org to purchase exhibition and program tickets and to learn more about the programs. (Tickets for An Evening with Jim Dale go on sale to the general public at the end of August.) These programs have been designed with Harry Potter fans in mind to further spur their excitement and curiosity for the Wizarding World through unique, compelling programs. Many of the events include a visit to the exhibition.

Support

Harry Potter: A History of Magic is proudly sponsored by Audible. Exhibitions at New-York Historical are made possible by Dr. Agnes Hsu-Tang and Oscar Tang, the Saunders Trust for American History, the Seymour Neuman Endowed Fund, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. WNET is the media sponsor.

Publication

A complete hardcover exhibition catalog, published by Scholastic simultaneously with the opening of the exhibition, invites readers to explore the extraordinary subjects of the Hogwarts curriculum—Potions & Alchemy, Divination, Care of Magical Creatures, and more—and examine the more than 150 items on display, including incredible historical artifacts, pieces from J.K. Rowling’s personal archive, early letters between J.K. Rowling and American editor Arthur A. Levine, and stunning original artwork from Harry Potter series artists Mary GrandPré, Jim Kay, and Brian Selznick.

This special publication is an essential volume for Harry Potter fans, history buffs, and bibliophiles, and a fascinating exploration of the history of the magic at the heart of the Harry Potter stories. An enhanced ebook edition will also be published simultaneously by Pottermore Publishing. The exhibition catalogue, Harry Potter: A History of Magic, will be available for purchase from the NYHistory Store and wherever books are sold to coincide with the opening of the exhibition in October.

20th Anniversary
September 2018 marks the 20th anniversary of the U.S. publication of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, and Scholastic kicked off its year-long celebration in January 2018. The Wizarding World will have one of its busiest years ever in the U.S., with Harry Potter and the Cursed Child now on Broadway; the British Library’s exhibition Harry Potter: A History of Magic, opening at the New-York Historical Society in October; and the film Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, opening in cinemas in November.

The Harry Potter books have sold more than 180 million copies in the U.S. alone and more than 500 million copies worldwide. The books are published in more than 200 territories in 80 languages.

About the New-York Historical Society 
The New-York Historical Society, one of America’s preeminent cultural institutions, is dedicated to fostering research and presenting history and art exhibitions and public programs that reveal the dynamism of history and its influence on the world of today. Founded in 1804, New-York Historical has a mission to explore the richly layered history of New York City and State and the country, and to serve as a national forum for the discussion of issues surrounding the making and meaning of history.

DiMenna Children’s History Museum at the New-York Historical Society explores 350 years of New York and American history through character-based pavilions, interactive exhibits and digital games, and the Barbara K. Lipman Children’s History Library. DiMenna Children’s History Museum encourages families to explore history together through permanent installations and a wide range of family learning programs for toddlers, children, and preteens. New-York Historical is also home to the Patricia D. Klingenstein Library, one of the oldest, most distinguished libraries in the nation—and one of only 20 in the United States qualified to be a member of the Independent Research Libraries Association—which contains more than three million books, pamphlets, maps, atlases, newspapers, broadsides, music sheets, manuscripts, prints, photographs, and architectural drawings.

About the British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and one of the world’s greatest research libraries. It provides world class information services to the academic, business, research, and scientific communities and offers unparalleled access to the world’s largest and most comprehensive research collection. The Library’s collection has developed over 250 years and exceeds 150 million separate items representing every age of written civilization and includes books, journals, manuscripts, maps, stamps, music, patents, photographs, newspapers, and sound recordings in all written and spoken languages. Every year, up to 10 million people visit the British Library website―www.bl.uk―where they can view up to four million digitized collection items and more than 40 million pages.

About Scholastic Corporation
Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ: SCHL) is the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books, a leading provider of core literacy curriculum and professional services, and a producer of educational and entertaining children’s media. The Company creates quality books and ebooks, print and technology-based learning programs for pre-K to grade 12, classroom magazines, and other products and services that support children’s learning both in school and at home. With operations in 14 international offices and exports to 165 countries, Scholastic makes quality, affordable books available to all children around the world through school-based book clubs and book fairs, classroom collections, school and public libraries, retail and online. True to its mission of 97 years to encourage the personal and intellectual growth of all children beginning with literacy, the Company has earned a reputation as a trusted partner to educators and families. Learn more at www.scholastic.com.

About Pottermore Publishing
Pottermore Publishing is the global digital publisher of the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts series as well as other audiobooks and eBooks from the Wizarding World. It aims to lead the way in innovative digital publishing and to bring new generations of readers together with long-standing fans, celebrating and bringing to life the stories that first began with the Boy Who Lived.

About Audible, Iinc.

Audible, Inc., an Amazon.com, Inc. subsidiary (NASDAQ:AMZN), is the leading provider of premium digital spoken audio content, offering customers a new way to enhance and enrich their lives every day. Audible was created to unleash the emotive music in language and the habituating power and utility of verbal expression. Audible content includes more than 425,000 audio programs from leading audiobook publishers, broadcasters, entertainers, magazine and newspaper publishers, and business information providers. Audible is also the provider of spoken-word audio products for Apple’s iTunes Store.