Halloween at Hogwarts 2019 | Schedule of Activities | Food & Drink | Become a Catalyst
All activities are from 6:30 to 10:30pm unless otherwise noted.
House Cup Contest
“While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn you house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honour.” -Minerva McGonagall
Bring your house honor and glory as you play games, answer trivia questions, perform good deeds and more to win points for your house at Halloween at Hogwarts! Check out how your house is doing throughout the night via live updates on screens in the SECU Daily Planet Theater, the Daily Planet Café and the Gryffindor Common Room. Final points will be entered at 9:45pm and the House Cup winner will be announced along with the costume contest winner at 10pm in the SECU Daily Planet Theater.
FIRST FLOOR, NATURE RESEARCH CENTER
6–8pm: Meet the Owls of Hogwarts
Meet our live, NC native birds of prey at each entrance to Halloween at Hogwarts.
Piedmont Wildlife Center
7:30pm & 8:30pm: Take Your O.W.L.S. Trivia
Daily Planet Café
Assemble your team and prepare for a battle of wits. Teams will complete against one another for prizes and bragging rights.
Dancing in the Globe
SECU Daily Planet Theater
Enjoy Harry Potter movie scores and clips early in the evening. As the night progresses, the globe will transition to a dance party.
Hippogriff Races
Do you know how to tame an unruly hippogriff? Hop on and challenge your friends to a race! Be careful though, our “hippogriffs” are notoriously difficult.
Mischief Managed! Photo Booth
Grab your friends and snap a few Hogwarts memories at our Marauder’s Map photo booth.
Sorting Hat
Don’t know your house? Come get sorted!
Horcrux Hunt
It took almost two years for the search for Voldemort’s horcruxes to be completed; can you find all 7 of them in four hours? Each building has all 7 of the horcruxes scattered amongst the exhibits. Take selfies with each horcrux and show them to the House Sorting volunteers on the first floor of each building! If you find a set of 7 you’ll receive house points; find all 14 for double the points!
Costume Contest
It’s Halloween! Come dressed as your favorite character from the Harry Potter Universe to win cool prizes. (Other types of costumes are welcome, but only HP-themed costumes are eligible to win prizes.) Prizes include two tickets to see “The Music of Harry Potter” at the NC Symphony on November 9, tickets to Adult Nights: Wild Love on February 14, and cool Harry Potter swag. Must register and be present to win. Winners will be announced at 10pm. Costume and mask policy.
Owl Post
Come see what the owls have brought!
SECOND FLOOR, NATURE RESEARCH CENTER
6:30-10pm: Fantastic Beasts: Here You Find Them
The Naturalist Center
Meet some of the animals — living and not — that inspired the creatures from the Harry Potter series.
Messages to Tom Riddle
Leave a message to Tom Riddle that only you can see.
Wormtail’s Demise
Biodiversity Research Lab
Learn about all things rat.
Wingardium Leviosa for Muggles
Learn how things float, explode, fly and move with unseen forces! Is it magic? Is it science? You be the judge.
THIRD FLOOR, NATURE RESEARCH CENTER
7–10pm: Astronomy
Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Lab
It’s your first year at Hogwarts and “Astronomy” is required, so don’t forget to meet Museum astrophysicists in the Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Lab! Learn about the astronomical connections to Halloween, hear about our current research on stars and galaxies. Discover how you can help measure the winding of spiral arms in galaxies in a new project called Spiral Graph, and try out OpenSpace — new interactive software that flies you through the Universe! (Broomstick not required)
Bertie Botts Every Flavour Cheese
Genomics & Microbiology Research Lab
Cheese Alive! Challenge your Potter partner to a cheese taste-off, learn about our cheese microbiome project, and more.
Dragon King of Hogwarts Member Tour
Paleontology Research Lab
Looking for real “dragons”? Take an exclusive tour of our Paleontology Research Lab to see newly-discovered dinosaur specimens and speak with our scientists about these ancient giant reptiles. Learn about the controversial Dragon King, Dracorex hogwartsia, the dinosaur named after the Harry Potter series, and the role of fossils in influencing myth and folklore. Friends of the Museum membership required.
Friends of the Museum Prize Giveaway
Friends of the Museum
Whether you apparate, use a portkey or travel by floo network, stop by to enter your name for the chance to win a Harry Potter-themed prize (no Galleons, Sickles or Knuts required).
Potions & Spells
Micro World Investigate Lab
Are you a muggle or a wizard? Test your spellcasting and potion-making skills.
Wizards’ Duel: Mindflex
Challenge your fellow wizards to a magical duel of concentration. Use your powers to levitate a ball into the opposing wizard’s zone to claim victory.
Herbology 101: Tickle Plant
Pick a wand and discover the movement of Mimosa pudica.
FOURTH FLOOR, NATURE RESEARCH CENTER
Yule Ball Silent Disco
Join us for a dance party like no other. Grab a pair of headphones, choose your track from our Dueling DJs and dance to your own beat.
Gryffindor Common Room
Environmental Conference Center
Gryffindor just won the Quidditch Cup, and there’s a party in the Common Room! Speak the password to the Fat Lady to enter.
Magical Creatures
Stacy Lewis Studio
Meet artist Stacy Lewis and watch her create fun and colorful paintings of owls, dragons and other magical beasts.
Free Dobby Sock Toss
Take aim and free Dobby the House Elf when you land a sock in the hole. Become an honorary member of the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare (S.P.E.W.)!
Sword of Gryffindor
How fast can you collect the swords from their icy pools?
Invisibility Cloak: Movie Magic
Try on our Invisibility Cloak and watch yourself disappear using the magic of green screen technology.
FIRST FLOOR, NATURE EXPLORATION CENTER
6–8pm: Meet the Owls of Hogwarts
Meet our live, NC native birds of prey at each entrance to Halloween at Hogwarts.
Piedmont Wildlife Center
Sorting Hat
Don’t know your house? Come get sorted!
Horcrux Hunt
It took almost two years for the search for Voldemort’s horcruxes to be completed; can you find all 7 of them in four hours? Each building has all 7 of the horcruxes scattered amongst the exhibits. Take selfies with each horcrux and show them to the House Sorting volunteers on the first floor of each building! If you find a set of 7 you’ll receive house points; find all 14 for double the points!
Wizards’ Duel: Mindflex
Challenge your fellow wizards to a magical duel of concentration. Use your powers to levitate a ball into the opposing wizard’s zone to claim victory.
Snakes of Extraordinary Size
These snakes don’t need an Engorgement Charm to make a big impression. Learn about the world’s biggest serpents and meet a boa constrictor, the snake Harry freed from the zoo when he first spoke Parseltongue.
Battle of Hogwarts
It’s time to choose your side. Are you a Death Eater or do you fight with the Order of the Phoenix? Get your temporary tattoo and display your allegiance.
Meet Your House Mascots
Gryffindor has the Lion, Slytherin loves the serpent. Hufflepuff has a badger, and Ravenclaw went with an eagle (not a raven?). Find your House Table and get to know your mascot.
Bowtruckles
Come meet some real-life creatures that look like they popped right out of Harry Potter!
SECOND FLOOR, NATURE EXPLORATION CENTER
7–10:15pm: Quidditch: Keeping it grounded
UNC Quidditch
Join real Quidditch players for a demonstration of how this magical sport translates to the real world. See demo matches on the NCMNS Pitch and learn how to play this Wizarding classic. Enjoy a 15-minute match demonstration every half hour, beginning at 7pm in our Featured Exhibition Gallery.
Quidditch Pong
Similar to beer pong, but with a magical twist. Be the first to score 120 points or make it in the Snitch cup for an instant victory! Thwart your opponents’ efforts by casting a dastardly spell.
Dragon Transfiguration
Is this real magic, or are we just blowing smoke? Practice your transfiguration skills and get a taste of what it’s like to be a dragon.
The Sorcerer’s Stone
Geology Research Lab
The original Sorcerer’s Stone was destroyed … can it ever be replaced? Join Professor Stone on his quest for a new “legendary substance of astonishing powers” and search his dazzling gemstone collection.
I Solemnly Swear That I am Up to No Good
UNC-Chapel Hill, Warren Lab
Learn the concepts of acid/base chemistry and design your own Marauder’s Map using “invisible ink.”
THIRD FLOOR, NATURE EXPLORATION CENTER
Wizarding Wonders by Modern Goldfish
Modern Goldfish
Gather your Galleons and Sickles, this shop has it all! Potions, handmade wands — all the accessories you need in today’s wizarding world.
Potions Class: Mysteries of Light
Stop by and learn from the Potions Master as you create eerie glows and brilliant flashes!
Magical Menagerie
Windows on the World
Meet the furry, feathered and slimy animals that inspired pets like Trevor the toad and Scabbers the (infamous) rat.
Ollivander’s
The wand chooses the wizard, but the best wizards create their own wands!