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Harry Potter Activities and Displays for Your Library

Harry Potter Books
In celebration of Harry Potter’s birthday month (officially he’ll be turning 39 on July 31st!), we've gathered three library lesson plans and three library displays for you.

We also are doing a GIVEAWAY of the illustrated Harry Potter books. Check out the full post below to see how to enter in our giveaway.



On June 26th, 1997, J.K. Rowling brought magic into the world by publishing the first Harry Potter book in the United Kingdom. A year later it was printed in the United States. Readers young and old have followed Harry, Ron, and Hermione's adventures at Hogwarts. We’ve laughed, shed a tear (or two), yelled in outrage and more! Needless to say, we did not have an emotional range of a teaspoon while reading the books.

Harry Potter Library Activities

Even though Harry Potter was first published almost 22 years ago, the excitement around the story of The Boy Who Lived is still just as relevant among readers today. Get young library patrons involved at the library with these three fun activities!

Pygmy Puff Craft

Make your own Arnold the Pygmy Puff! Cute, adorable and oh, so magical—you'll only need a few items to make a Pygmy Puff, such as:

  • Needle and thread
  • Pins
  • Scissors
  • 1/4 Yard Shag Fabric or make a yarn pom pom
  • Hot Glue gun
  • Eye buttons

Wand Making

Every wizard needs a wand! Have students create their own magic wand. There is a variety of magic wands you can have kids make. We have two resources so you can decide on which wand making activity you’d like to provide for students.

Make Paper Wands Make Pencil Wands

Potions Class Experiment

Take a fun chemistry lesson and make it Harry Potter themed by renaming the ingredients to be more magically inclined. Students will enjoy this science-based activity. Here are the ingredients you will need:

  • Vinegar
  • Water
  • Black Plastic Spoons
  • Glitter
  • Elmers Glue
  • Borax Solutions
  • Stirring Sticks
  • Plastic Cups with Lids
The finished product will be a slimy substance your students can play with. Check out the article post for full instructions!

Bonus House Points!

Here is an extra Potions Class activity. You can do the same thing with this recipe, the experiment is called Elephants Toothpaste. Rename it to a Potion like Polyjuice Potion, Felix Felicis, or anything else of your choice!

Wingardium Leviosa with Static Electricity

Take a typical occurrence like static electricity and create a lesson plan around it! When the balloon is charged with static electricity, small paper bits will be attracted to the ballon, making the paper float up to the ballon. Voila, Wingardium Leviosa!

This is a great activity for a class of children for they can each have their own props to make static electricity or share among a group of three. Learn more about implementing the experiment here!

Harry Potter Corner Bookmarks

Wait... We said three library activities... But, we are too excited about all the creative ideas we added an extra activity!

These Harry Potter corner bookmarks are easy to make and only require a few materials like paper, glue, scissors, and paint if you so desire. Each library patron can personalize their bookmark however they like, or create bookmarks to reflect each of the Hogwarts houses. Follow this link for full instructions!

Harry Potter Library Displays

Make your library magical by creating these library displays! Get as creative as you can or implement small accents to bring Hogwarts to your library.
This is a cute idea to decorate your bulletin boards.
Something you can keep up in your library all year long!
This is a great idea to get students involved. You can even ask kids to fill out the best moment from their favorite book.

Harry Potter Book Giveaway!

We want to hear from you! We are selecting three winners to win something magical in honor of Harry Potter's birthday on July 31st. Alexandria librarians will get the chance to win a set of the illustrated Harry Potter Books, the new special edition Harry Potter box set series, or a $25 Amazon gift card.

 
 

2 Comments

  1. Jean Pfluger says:

    Great Ideas! I see a Harry Potter center in my library next fall!

  2. Charlene A Stevens-Poulsen says:

    Our Library would be thrilled to have this!

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