[2.9.2012] Harry Potter Exhibition

Hey guys! I must testify that I am a hardcore fan of the Harry Potter franchise. I've read the whole series, I  own a copy of each book in the series and I have watched all Harry Potter movies and grew up with Harry, Ron and Hermione.. Heck i've even done an all nighter with my friends and lined up to go buy the latest book. But that is in a whole different blog.

Anyhow last week I was in Singapore for the Comics, Games and Toys convention. The convention was held in Marina Bay Sands.

Me outside Marina Bay Sands and Under the Art and Science Museum structure

Anyhow apart from the convention, I had another place which I planned to visit which was the Harry Potter Exhibition. The Harry Potter Exhibition is currently held in the Art and Science Museum in Marina Bay Sands from 2nd June to 30th September 2012. 

So whats inside the exhibition you ask? Well a lot if you are a fan of the series but it would be worth it if you took the time to read through all the exhibits and mayb rent the audio walk through for 5 Singapore Dollars.

Anyhow the tickets for entry costs about 24 Singapore Dollars  for non-residents like me and you can find more info if you check here.  Be aware though that tickets are time allocated. They limit a number of visitors per hour and you should find  out what time you want to enter or what time is available. 

heres a pic of the ticket

One thing I must say though and apologise to all of you is that pictures are prohibitted inside the exhibition so you are left to your imagination as to how things will look. But basically they are all shown in an exhibit form like heres the robe of Professor Snape and theres a post with a sign or a tag explaining who he is or whatever.. 

So when you first enter and go down using the elevators, you reach this floor which opens up to the following

As can be seen here is the flying car  

 This is the Signboard above the exit 

 You can also buy the exhibition guide and also rent the audio tour here.

  Before you enter you are given a chance to take a picture with the colours of the different houses such as the red and gold Gryffindor or the Slytherin colours.

 My friend Matt with his scarf, my batt started to die after this pic which was kinda  ok as i couldn't really take pics afterwards. But still pissed me off that i ddnt charge it for the day. 

 So when you are about to enter, you are ushered to an area here. At the front where its written Harry Potter there initially i thought was a tv was actually a walkway that had smoke and the words projected on it. hehe I was surprised when the usherers said you may now enter... and i thought ok... nothing happened.. haha.. But thats where you enter. So first thing you do as usual with first years is the sorting hat! See if you are lucky and you can find out which house you belong to.. 

So now i guess you're wondering whats inside this thing.. Frankly i'd love to be able to give you pics but I cant. 

But frankly what it starts off with is the exhibit on the arrival and the Hogwarts Train. Then you move on to the Gryffindor Common room where it shows the wall where the students post materials and the lost and found.

There it moves on to Harry and Ron's corner of the room with their beds and the chests filled with their own stuff like Ron's copy of the Quidditch teams he supports.

Here it also showcases the moving video portrait of the Fat Lady.  You can also see how small Harry was as  it also showed the Harry's first year robes.

Next it went on to the showcase on the Hogwarts classes. Here you can see the robes of the Hogwart's teachers and then have your try and do one of the herbology class. I wont want to spoil it for anyone and say theres a pleasant earful surprise for you.

So apart from the above you also get a chance to see Hagrid's cabin and see how tall he really is compared to you guys...

Afterwards there is exhibits on dark wizards and also the great hall where you can also see the clothings of the Durmstrang kids and Fleur's robe. This part of the exhibit also showcases the Triwizard Tournament and you get to see how huge the cup is.

Also before you leave you have a chance to go through the souvenier shop and mayb buy yourself some Chocalate Frogs or the house ties or your very own wand. Theres soo many stuffz in there and you can also try and get the marauder map or buy some every flavour jelly beans!

All in all I feel that the whole exhibition is mainly focusing on the clothes and props of the characters and you get to see how much detail it goes into making some of the magic of the book come alive. I love how they show all of the exhibits and you get to notice some things and wonder whether the mud from Harry's Quidditch robes are actually from the real filming, but I feel that theres something lacking to be found in the exhibits. Mayb due to its travelling nature it seemed to be all just all showcase and only scratches the surface of what we fans really want. Mayb what i am looking for could be found in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando Florida.. but thats another story... So.. as usual.. Wait for it!!!