GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Some West Michigan community members may not have been able to snack on chocolate cauldrons at Honeydukes or sip on butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks or adopt a Pygmy Puff at Zonko's Joke Shop, but they were able to fall into the world of Harry Potter with the Grand Rapids Public Library's Harry Potter Escape Room event.
"Spring break programming it is important that for us to make sure there are opportunities for our community to come out and into the library and have a fun time while they are enjoying time off school," said Jessica Anne Bratt, Youth Services Manager at the GRPL. "So we brainstormed and created the Harry Potter Escape Room so that our families could come in and not only celebrate Harry Potter, maybe checking out some books but having a fun time with their family."
The puzzles in the rooms range in knowledge levels so that even those who aren't Potterheads can solve them.
"You can see that there are some great Harry Potter fans, that they get really into and there are some people that are like 'what do we do? How do we figure this out?'" Bratt said. "So there is a wide range of people being easily solve the puzzles and others waiting until 30 seconds to finally clearing the room."
Those that solve the puzzles in time earn special Mischief Manage buttons and those who don't get whomped with Whomping Willow buttons.
The three-day event kicked off Tuesday and completely sold out all three days.
"It has been blast and everyone who has come has had a ton of fun," Bratt said. "Whether they clear the room or got 'whomped whomped' by the whomping willow."
