Camp Hogwarts: A Reflection by Lily Welch
From July 16th to July 18th, students in grades 5th-8th travel from the muggle world into the magical universe of Harry Potter for another fun installment of A Summer Of STREAM (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Art, & Math) at Oldenburg Academy with Camp Hogwarts.
This was the 3rd year of the routine camp. So, what all happens once these students pass through Platform 9¾?
Day One
Day one of camp started at 10 AM. Previous campers alongside new first years all signed in and received their name tags. Returning campers seated themselves in the Hogwarts House they had previously been in. New campers took their turn being sorted.
“…But before you can take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The sorting is a very important ceremony because while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts.” (Rowling, 1998)
Once the sorting ceremony is over, everyone goes to an assigned classroom and decorates it to suit their Hogwarts house.
Following the decorating, two Hogwarts houses went off to play their first quidditch match of the season while the other two houses visited Ollivanders, the wand-making station. For the 3rd year in a row, Kris Lafary led the wand decorating course. Each student is given a basic, pre-styled, wooden wand. To which the students are then set free to paint/decorate their wands to their liking. Allowing the students to express their individuality through art and sharing ideas with their classmates.
The last few hours of day one contained a generously provided lunch, and an “All House Challenge.” The All-House Challenge is a fun obstacle or relay-like game involving everyone. Encouraging sportsmanship and the ability to communicate with people you’ve just met.
Day Two
Day Two of camp is the busiest of the three. All camp staff collectively can be seen drinking their morning coffee before the campers arrive. Hogwarts is a magical school, so it’s no surprise that at Camp Hogwarts we have mock classes. This year the four classes that were presented consisted of History of Magic, Potions, Charms, and Astronomy. I visited each classroom and can confidently say they all were a huge success.
History of Magic is described in the books, “Easily the most boring class was History of Magic, which was the only one taught by a ghost.” (Rowling, 1998)
However, Leslie Rennie’s, instructor of History of Magic, version was anything but boring. She created an elaborate escape room including puzzles, word games, and handmade codes. Her breakout room encouraged the participants to use their problem-solving and communication skills.
I spoke to several campers about their experience and Ailey Jones gave me a quote when I asked what she thought about History of Magic.
“It was exhilarating,” She exclaimed.
Potions wasn’t taught by the famous Professor Snape, but that didn’t stop it from being rigorous and memorable. Kris Lafary took the ropes in leading Potions. Using different ingredients and simple instructions the campers had the opportunity to create two “potions” a portion of slime, and a small lava-lamp-like vial made with food coloring and baby oil.
Katie Noonan expressed her enthusiasm during class, “This is actually very cool. 10/10!”
After attending a Potions class, I ventured onto Charms. Charms was led by Laura Beck and taught outside. Luckily, we had clear skies and not too hot of temperatures. Laura turned some textbook chemistry into a hands-on explosive experiment. To complete this, students crafted a concoction of vinegar and baking soda in a bag and sealed it, thus creating a marvelous eruption.
The last class was Astronomy, hosted by Sarah Dobson. Dobson showed the students all of the constellations they might’ve not recognized before in a portable planetarium. Dobson was very passionate and well-informed, making it easier for kids to inquire about the night sky and its artistic abilities to stay present even with the hustling upgrades of today’s world.
Dobson also had them model constellations with marshmallows and toothpicks to map-out constellations she had projected upon the ceiling and walls of the star lab.
Day two held another set of quidditch matches and a well-supplied lunch.
Day Three
The final day of camp resulted in awarding the Quidditch Cup to Slytherin and the House Cup to Ravenclaw.
Campers got to visit Gringotts (the bank in Harry Potter) and Honeydukes (a magical sweet shop) as a fun finale to their journey at Camp Hogwarts.
Closing Remarks
I want to take this final moment to thank everyone who made this camp an amazing experience, and a meaningful dive into the Harry Potter world. I give a round of applause to Camp Hogwarts’ Headmistress, Clarice Patterson who graciously invited me back (3rd year in a row) and inspired me to write and publish an informative reflection for the public eye.
