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J.K. Rowling minces no words when it comes to her memories of beakers and chemical equations. 鈥淐hemistry was my least favourite subject at school, and I gave it up as soon as I could,鈥� . Rowling hated the subject so much that she made Severus Snape鈥擧arry Potter鈥檚 archenemy鈥攖he Potions Master at Hogwarts.

Yet when writing the 贬补谤谤测听笔辞迟迟别谤 novels, Rowling became engrossed in real-world inspirations for the potions she was creating. Part of her 鈥渇ound Potions quite as interesting as Snape did,鈥� and she delved into the history鈥攂oth real and fictional鈥攐f various plants and tinctures. When Harry was bitten by Voldemort鈥檚 snake, Hermoine used Dittany, a magical plant, to heal him. Its origins can be traced to Origanum dictamnus, a small, velvety herb that grows only on the Greek island of Crete. Centuries ago, it was used as a poultice for healing wounds.

In earlier this year, Alan McCormack, a professor emeritus聽of science education at San Diego State University, explained that teachers can make use of student interests like the Harry Potter books to boost engagement and tap into students鈥� imagination and creativity. There are many ways to do this.

Harry Potter鈥檚 Invisibility Cloak

Harry Potter famously used an invisibility cloak鈥攄escribed in as 鈥渟trange to the touch, like water woven into material鈥濃�攖o sneak around, eavesdrop, and escape detection in dangerous situations.

Could an invisibility cloak work in real life? Students may think it鈥檚 impossible, but this is an opportunity to talk about , which can be observed when light passes from one medium to another, such as from water to air. Here鈥檚 a you can do with younger children: Place a penny underneath a clear cup, and let the students see the penny. When you fill the cup with water, the penny will disappear. Your students will have to be viewing the cup from聽a certain angle鈥攏ot too high or they鈥檒l see the penny from above.

It isn鈥檛 gone, of course. As water enters the cup, it bends the light reflected from the penny, making the penny appear in a different location鈥攁 spot that鈥檚 not visible from the students鈥� perspective.

Alastor Moody鈥檚 Magical Eye

After losing his eye in battle, Professor Alastor Moody received a magical replacement. Described as 鈥渆lectric blue,鈥� could see through any material, from doors to walls and even Harry鈥檚 invisibility cloak.

You can use a to 鈥渟ee鈥� through solid objects. Arranging four convex lenses in a straight line will cause light to bend between them. This creates a 鈥渢unnel鈥� between two of the lenses鈥攊f you place your hand in the right spot, you鈥檒l be able to see right through it.

The Pensieve

In the Hogwarts headmaster鈥檚 office sits a large basin filled with a shimmering liquid. 鈥淥ne simply siphons the excess thoughts from one鈥檚 mind, pours them into the basin, and examines them at one鈥檚 leisure,鈥澛犅燚umbledore. Generations of wizards can store their memories in the pensieve, creating a library of experiences for future reference.

How are memories stored? How are they recalled? Can they be extracted and altered? This is an opportunity to delve into the and give your students a lesson in brain anatomy and different types of memory (working, short-term, and long-term). There are also students can conduct on memory to investigate how reliable it is over time or to test strategies that can improve memory recall. You can start with a Potteresque example, such as Neville Longbottom forgetting where he put his toad, and use that to launch an experiment on whether聽.

Spells and Potions

Is there a scientific basis for magical potions? In The Science of Harry Potter: How Magic Really Works, science journalist Roger Highfield gives us a useful clue: Because plants can鈥檛 run or hide, they鈥檝e developed a 鈥渇earsome range of chemical weapons to deter, maim, and even kill insects and animals that eat them.鈥� You can ask your students to think about ways in which , using real examples such as dieffenbachia, which uses idioblasts to release paralysis-inducing enzymes when eaten.

The spells in the books likewise have some basis in reality. In The Prisoner of Azkaban, Professor Remus Lupin taps a kettle with his wand, instantly heating tea. While boiling is usually caused by heat, it can also be simulated with pressure, as this demonstrates: By withdrawing the stopper on a syringe filled with water while covering the tip (be sure to yell 鈥淚ncendio!鈥� for dramatic effect), you decrease the pressure inside, turning liquid into gas. Bubbles of water vapor will appear, making it appear as though the water is boiling.

Wizards will often use invisible ink to ensure that their diaries remain private or to send secret messages to others. When Hermoine finds Tom Riddle鈥檚 diary, she casts a revealing charm on its blank pages, hoping to expose any hidden writing (although to no avail). To recreate this as a , all you need is a lemon, water, and a light bulb or other heat source. The same process that makes bananas and avocados turn brown鈥攐xidation鈥攁lso gives invisible ink its magic.

The Sorting Hat

Upon arriving at Hogwarts, students are assigned to one of four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin. For over a thousand years, giving students their housing assignments was the job of the , which divined a wizard鈥檚 potential and declared which house they would join.

Card-sorting can help younger students practice early math skills such as categorizing, pattern recognition, and observation. It also builds language skills as students describe what they see. A fun activity is to sort cards by pulling them from a hat. This can also be done with , , or 鈥攏early any set of objects that can be categorized can be adapted into a sorting game.

Magical devices like the Sorting Hat can be used to build wonder in students, introducing them to scientific concepts that would otherwise be too abstract and difficult to comprehend. Here are a few other magical elements of the Potter books that can be adapted for use in science lessons:

• Flying broomsticks and
• Transmogrification and
• Newt鈥檚 suitcase and tesseracts
• Magic wands and
• Bertie Bott鈥檚 Every Flavour Beans and
• The Philosopher鈥檚 Stone and
• Levitation and