Vote for IQA to Win $25k Grant, Support Muggle Youth Quidditch

The International Quidditch Association has been accepted as a candidate for the Pepsi Refresh Project. The organization is eligible to win a $25,000 grant to start youth Quidditch programs in elementary and middle schools - but they need your help to win!

Fans are encouraged to voteContinued...

Travelling Harry Potter Exhibit from the University of Alabama at Birmingham

A press release from the University of Alabama at Birmingham announces a travelling exhibit to "[show] how Rowling delved into the writings of real 15th and 16th century physicians, scholars and scientists to fashion the basis of magic in the seven Potter books." Supplemented by theContinued...

Battling Voldemort, 101

In the past, we've told you about the rise in popularity of collegiate level course on the Harry Potter Series. Tonight, MTV has a new piece online, focusing on the classes being taught at Swarthmore College. In particular, one class "Battling Against Voldemort" is proving so popular, the article note that "a lottery determinesContinued...

I have Seen!

The Eye has granted me with my first prediction for these Leaky channels! I have seen it in the shadowy depths of the Orb... I have seen it in the murky waves of time not yet passed... soon our hallowed institute of magic, Hogwarts itself, shall be considered high among its Muggle peers... and the Muggles shall be surprised to see theContinued...

Hogwarts on List of Best Scottish Schools

A new report in the Scotsman says that Hogwarts appears on a list of the best schools in Scotland. It ranked 36th online, a place above Loretto, Edinburgh’s £23,000-per-year school. It scored more than three out of five in all categories “from atomsphere to discipline.” The managing directorContinued...

A League of their Own: Quidditch and US Colleges

We have a fun bit of news for you, as the USA Today has a lengthy feature on the rise in popularity of Quidditch at colleges here in the States. Focusing on the team at Middlebury College, the paper notes the college saw an "Intercollegiate Quidditch World Cup Fall Festival" complete with "banners,Continued...

The Magical Effect of Harry Potter and Education

In news that surely would make Hermione proud, the Daily Mail is reporting today about a school in the UK that has experienced a significant turnaround in the academic performance of their students after introducing a Harry Potter curriculum this year. While the use of Harry Potter in schools isContinued...

Live "Call-Out" PotterCast Tonight

It’s Deathly Hallows reaction time on PotterCast, our Harry Potter podcast, which means we’re having a call-OUT show at 8 p.m. EST. If you would like us to call you to talk about Deathly Hallows, send us a message at staff@pottercast.com with your Skype name or phone number! Less than four hours untilContinued...

JKR Gives New Epilogue Type Information During "Today Show" Interview

In the first of a two part interview seen on NBC’s the “Today Show,” author J.K. Rowling gave some wonderful new “Deathly Hallows”epilogue type information, where she revealed jobs and more for certain characters in the Harry Potter series. The interviewContinued...

Leaky to Ask First Question at J.K. Rowling Web Chat on Monday

As many of you have noted, you can currently submit questions to J.K. Rowling for a live Web chat the author will be doing on Monday. This morning, Jo and Bloomsbury invited Leaky to ask the first question, an awesome and intimidating honor, as most of the staff here has more questionsContinued...

Prophecy 2007 Website Now Open

Prophecy 2007: From Hero to Legend, the Harry Potter Symposium due next August 2-5 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada has now launched their official website. Registration for this event is now open, with a discounted price still available until September 8. You can find out more about this event, including hotel informationContinued...

Harry Potter Books to Remain on Gwinnett County Library Shelves

The Gwinnett County, Georgia Board of Education voted unanimously tonight to allow the Harry Potter books to remain in public school libraries there.
Last month, a parent (who said she had not read any of the Potter books in their entirety) brought a complaint before the BoardContinued...

Learning About Nature with Harry Potter

Kingston Observer columnist Dorothy MacFarlane wrote about exploring nature using concepts and themes from the Harry Potter books.

Looking under logs is part of many of our programs. This time, The Forbidden Forest revealed one of the woods most beautiful creatures, a red red-backed salamander....

HP Books Still Challenged in Missouri

Despite some trends elsewhere in the US that see the Harry Potter books moving off "banned books" lists at schools and libraries, the Harry Potter books are the most frequently challenged in Missouri schools. The Missourian reports that the first five HP books were most often challenged on the groundsContinued...

The "Nature" of Harry Potter

The current issue of "Nature" magazine has a short feature on wizarding genetics and their use as a teaching tool for kids learning about heredity and alleles.