Transfiguration Class

I learned about a fantastic Harry Potter Escape Room idea on EPBOT.com. The author described affixing instructions for to the bottom of a hollow box, placing iron shavings that looked like ash over the instructions, then placing glass on top, so that when the student tapped their wand (which had a magnet on it) on the “ash” it would reveal the hidden message.

Brilliant, right? A wand that actually works! So cool!

I decided that I had to use this idea!

But, since I wanted my students to be going to various classes, I felt I had to figure out how this ash trick could fit into a Hogwart’s class. I realized that they could transform ash into…something, and the class could be transfiguration! Perfect!

I decided they’d transform the ash into roses. This added a little bit of complexity to my ash box, because I had to write the hidden message on the bottom, glue roses around the message, add a layer of glass, put the iron shavings on that glass, and then put a layer of glass on top.

I thought it would work!

It turns out, it was more complicated than I thought.

First of all, since I had two layers of glass, I couldn’t really test my design until the first layer of glass was glued down. This limited my ability to test and re-design. I was able to test things with the top layer of glass not glued yet, and found it to be…difficult. If I put too little iron shavings, they moved easily, but I couldn’t hide my message. If I put too much iron shavings, I could hide the message, but the ash wouldn’t easily move. I ended up coming up with a few solutions that make my ash box usable, but certainly not astounding.

First, I added a border around the edge of my box, so to cover up the message, I could have the shavings in the center, and the border blocking the view from the outside. It wasn’t really the look I craved, but it was necessary. With the border in place, I could put a good amount of ash in the center which could then be moved to the edges (under the border) to reveal the message.

Second, I got a crazy powerful magnet. I was trying to use a itty bitty magnet that would blend into the wand. It just didn’t move the ash all that well. I ended up with a square magnet that is probably .5 inch x .5 inch or slightly larger, and weighs down the wand. Oh well.

Finally, the “tap” instructions just didn’t work for my project. My students are instructed to tap their wand in the center, and sweep it to the edges.

I was SOOOO excited for the ash box, and we’ll see on party day how the kids respond, but it definitely isn’t quite as smooth as I’d prefer!