Harry Potter Day

With all of the hype of the latest J.K. Rowling book and movie this past July, Lindsay and I thought the chimpanzees needed to be included in on this phenomenon, this prodigy, this boy named Harry Potter! With this idea formulated for our enhanced enrichment, we set out to realize a vision, to charter a journey into the magical world of Harry Potter. Armed only with our Harry Potter obsession and our imaginations we created an epic day, built with our very own muggle hands to bring the magic of Hogwarts to the chimpanzees.

The Chimpanzees would need broomsticks, obviously, to get around this mysterious world, we fashioned Nimbus 2000 Pan troglodytes models for their flying desires.

However, you can't be a true wizard unless you have your trusty wand! These were provided for any spells they wished to cast. The wands had an applesauce snack hidden inside for their fun day.

In order to recreate the magic of Hogwarts, masterful portraits were hung on the walls and floating candles were suspended all around the grand room. With the Gryffindor emblem emblazoned on our banners and the heroic colors of maroon and gold adorning the enclosure, the East Room was transformed into a magnificent rendition of Hogwarts and the spirit it embodies.

Not only were there broomsticks, wands, portraits and floating candles, but there were snitches, witch hats, scarves, Harry Potter book covers, the whomping willow and fun laboratory experiments which resembled frozen fruit and water in the shape of cups.

But alas! One is never safe in the world of Harry Potter. Lo and behold a Basilisk had slithered its way into the east room and lay sulking in the shadows of the shaky tree ready to strike at any moment! But have no fear, Loulis and Dar promptly destroyed the shredded paper filled Basilisk before it could cause any harm.

With the danger now eliminated, Tatu dug into the candles in an earnest search to see what she could find, only to be showered with more shredded paper (of course she found 1 of the only 2 candles that did not have a marshmallow in it!). Discouraged temporarily, Tatu turned her attention to the yummy fruit hidden in ice. Meanwhile, Dar cast his frozen treat onto the ground in order to get at the fruit inside. Washoe calmly worked on her own fruit cup all the while.

Later in the day somebody found a marshmallow in the floating candles and the marshmallow frenzy began! Everybody was able to enjoy the fun food and enrichment of Harry Potter day. We feel that we were able to sufficiently recreate a magical world for the chimpanzees and include them in the Harry Potter craze. An epic day indeed!