Anyone who has read the Harry Potter book series or seen any of the films knows that Quidditch is THE sport in the wizarding world. But did you know that Muggles (non-magical folk) now play the sport as well? That’s right – you, too, could grab a broomstick and catch your own golden snitch!

According to the International Quidditch Association, nearly 300 full-fledged teams have been formed worldwide since 2005, and over 100 are now officially registered members of the IQA league. The United States boasts the highest number of teams with 272!

Many of these are collegiate teams and play intramural games regularly. The highlight of league play is the Quidditch World Cup, which takes place in late fall in New York. This year will mark the 5^th Annual World Cup.

But how do you play Quidditch if you can’t fly?

Muggle Quidditch was adapted from the game that appears in JK Rowling’s Harry Potter books. The teams have the same players: three chasers, two beaters, one keeper and one seeker. Teams receive points if their chasers successfully pass the quaffle ball downfield and throw/kick it through one of three hoops at the opposing team’s goal, which the keeper guards. The beaters try to knock opposing players temporarily out of play by throwing bludger balls at them. Games end when a team’s seeker successfully catches the golden snitch (which, in Muggle play, is a person).

And did I mention all of this has to take place while riding on a broom? That’s right – players have to hold onto a broomstick while all of this running takes place!

Still having trouble picturing it?

On July 15 – the opening day of Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part 2: An IMAX 3D Experience – The Henry Ford IMAX Theatre is proud to host two Michigan Quidditch collegiate teams! Joining us on the front lawn of Henry Ford Museum will be the teams from Michigan State University and Oakland University. These teams will play at 2:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. – come on out and join us in cheering for your favorite team! Clinics will also be offered at 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. for guests interested in learning the game. See you there!

Tickets for Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part 2: An IMAX 3D Experience can be purchased online, by phone or in person here at The Henry Ford. Hurry, shows are selling fast!

The summer blockbuster movie season is here, so where do you go when you cravethat larger-than-life film experience?

May I suggest Michigan’s largest IMAX screen?

That’s right! With a screen six stories high and eight stories wide, The Henry Ford IMAX Theatre is simply the best place in all of Michigan to see some of this summer’s mega-hits, including Cars 2: An IMAX 3D Experience and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2: An IMAX 3D Experience.

But it’s not just the visual element that makes seeing movies in our IMAX theater such a spectacular experience. Watch this video as I explain how the quality of our equally-giant sound system and unsurpassed quality of IMAX’s 15-perforation/70mm film stock makes for the most fully-immersive sight and sound IMAX experience in Michigan.

What was the best IMAX experience you’ve ever had?

CARS 2: An IMAX 3D Experience has arrived at The Henry Ford IMAX Theatre – ka-chow!

Cheer on star race car Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) on Michigan’s largest screen as he journeys overseas to compete in the World Grand Prix! McQueen and the incomparable tow truck Mater (voiced by Larry the Cable Guy) take their friendship to exciting new places when they head overseas to compete in the first-ever World Grand Prix to determine the world’s fastest car.  But the road to the championship is filled with plenty of potholes, detours and hilarious surprises when Mater gets caught up in an intriguing adventure of his own: international espionage.  Torn between assisting Lightning McQueen in the high-profile race and “towing” the line in a top-secret spy mission, Mater’s action-packed journey leads him on an explosive chase through the streets of Japan and Europe, trailed by his friends and watched by the whole world.

Adding to the fast-paced fun is a colorful new “all-car cast” that includes secret agents, menacing villains and international racing competitors.  CARS 2: An IMAX 3D Experience is produced by Pixar Animation Studios (the company behind the wildly-successful Toy Story film franchise) and is distributed by Walt Disney Pictures and IMAX Corporation.  The movie is rated “G” and has a running time of 1 hour and 56 minutes.

Plus, a new, fun-filled animated short film entitled “Hawaiian Vacation” (featuring characters from the movie Toy Story 3) will be seen just prior to the main feature.

Be sure to catch CARS 2: An IMAX 3D Experience at The Henry Ford before it races out of our IMAX Theatre on July 14!

In Greenfield Village, our Lah-De-Dahs historic baseball team takes on the Petoskey Mossbacks at 1:30 p.m. – grab a spot on the hill at Walnut Grove and cheer them on for a victory!

Have you tried our hands-on summer activities? We’re offering candle-dipping near the Farris Windmill (in the Porches and Parlors district, near the Daggett Farmhouse) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., weather permitting - you can make two soybean and beeswax candles for $4! Even kids can do this – although children younger than six years old must have a parent who will dip the hot wax (the child can dip the candles in the water to finish them).

New this year, we’re also offering a tin medallion workshop beside the Liberty Craftworks Store, Friday through Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. For a $2 fee, you can hammer out your own design from the same tin we show in our Printing Office & Tin Shop!

Enjoy your weekend!

Tomorrow is the big opening day for Discovering the Civil War in Henry Ford Museum!

This unparalleled collection of documents and artifacts from the National Archives – displayed during the 150th anniversary of the war – is a Civil War buff’s dream, with untold stories and unusual perspectives that are sure to pique the interest of even the most well-read students of this tumultuous chapter of American history.

Tomorrow also begins our lecture series for Discovering the Civil War. First up is “Why Does the Civil War Matter Today?” with David Finney, a United States Army veteran, retired award-winning history teacher and historical commentator for several Civil War film documentaries. His knowledge of the Civil War is extraordinarily broad, making him a highly sought-after speaker to Civil War roundtables, historical and genealogical societies and professional organizations. The lecture begins at 10 a.m. in Anderson Theater, and is free to the public; no ticket is required. Finney will speak for 45 minutes and take audience questions for another 15 minutes.

This is also the second – and last! – weekend for our special spring activities in Greenfield Village; make sure to stop by and give a few of them a try!

Finally, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is now showing in 3D at The Henry Ford IMAX Theatre! Tickets are going fast for all shows, so be sure to call ahead or purchase your tickets in advance – Captain Jack Sparrow is a sight to see on Michigan’s largest screen!

What do YOU have planned for this weekend?

It’s March. The weather is iffy, the kids have cabin fever and there are 38 days until Greenfield Village re-opens for the season.

So parents, we’re trying to save your sanity – starting today through May 19, our IMAX theater is hosting a Family Film Festival with special ticket pricing, deals on a variety of kids’ concession combos and more!

Part one of the festival kicks off today (Friday, March 11) with a space and technology theme. Disney’s newest family film, Mars Needs Moms: An IMAX 3D Experience headlines with $9.75 tickets for ages 12 and under. Plus, we’re bringing back two hand-picked IMAX classics for the show schedule: The Hidden Dimension: An IMAX 3D Experience and Blue Planet, with tickets just $6 per person, regardless of age, for either movie!

Then, on April 8, we celebrate animals and their habitats with the premiere of Born to be Wild 3D - an adorable film with tons of cute baby animals! Three animal-focused IMAX favorites, Animalopolis, Dolphins and Coral Reef Adventure, will also be on the show schedule starting April 8 for our specially-priced educational-length film selections.

We hope to see you here!

Amy Louise Bartlett is director of visitor services and The Henry Ford IMAX Theatre. Although she was originally hired as an IMAX salesperson, she quickly realized she’d rather pick out the movies instead.

I was first attracted to The Henry Ford because it is important for me to work with products and people that enrich lives. Now that I am here, it is wonderful to walk through Henry Ford Museum or Greenfield Village and see children’s faces light up with curiosity, or pass a family posing together for a photo.  People make memories here, and I am privileged to be a part of it.  For these reasons, I am pleased to tell you about a film currently playing here at The Henry Ford IMAX^® Theatre.

Many of us remember Ibn Battuta from our history classes, but few know the real extent of his travels.  In the film Journey to Mecca: In the Footsteps of Ibn Battuta, we learn of this extraordinary traveler’s first pilgrimage to the Hajj.  As a young man, Battuta felt compelled to leave his home in Morocco and travel to distant lands.  In 1325, he began his journey by traveling to the destination considered the most sacred by Muslims throughout the world, both then and now: Mecca.  Battuta would not return home to Morocco for nearly 30 years.  We often see images of the white-clad masses gathering in Mecca, but only some understand the spirit that motivates the more than three million pilgrims who make this trip each year.  This film brings that spirit into focus.  Through the story of Ibn Battuta, we learn of each ritual’s origin, see how they were performed nearly 700 years ago and how they are still practiced today.

In Battuta’s time, the journey took much more commitment.  Just getting to Mecca took over a year – but now, people arrive by planes, trains, ships, and even automobiles.  .  Through the film, we’ll follow Battuta as he travels across the North African desert, visits the splendid city of Cairo, and how he is thwarted by war at the Red Sea, turning back and heading north to join the legendary Damascus Caravan with thousands of pilgrims, camels, water carriers, beekeepers, bankers, soldiers, and musicians.

Journey to Mecca marks the first and only time an IMAX^® camera has captured an aerial view of the Hajj – from a helicopter hovering 200 ft above Mecca – and the first time an IMAX^® team has been admitted to this most sacred sanctuary of Islam.  The permission process alone lasted nearly two and a half years.  It took 85 permits for a team of 80 people drawn from 30 nations to embark on the largest and most ambitions production ever to take place in the Gulf region.  The result of these efforts is a fantastic voyage from Morocco to Saudi Arabia.  You’ll fly above the desert as aerial shots capture the largest caravan caught on film since Lawrence of Arabia.

Narrated by Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley, this remarkable and dramatic story begins and ends in modern day Mecca.  When we first see the pilgrims, we are unfamiliar with their motivations; but after travelling with Ibn Battuta, we better understand the reasoning behind each pilgrim’s journey.  Remarkable time lapse footage captures the constant activity at the Grande Mosque, from sunrise to nightfall.  We see first-hand the tremendous scale of the Hajj and how many people are involved.  And it really hits you that while Ibn Battuta’s story is compelling, he is only one of billions of pilgrims who have made this same journey over hundreds of years.

If you have not yet experienced an IMAX^® film or are simply looking for a reason to experience it again, this film is your chance.  Journey to Mecca encompasses all that IMAX^® has to offer: thrills, drama, action, adventure, emotion – and yes, you might even learn something.  Join us here at The Henry Ford for one of our daily screenings; you will not be disappointed.

For more information on the film please visit:

http://www.journeytomeccagiantscreen.com/

And for a behind-the-scenes look at how this film was made:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o79jlw8HtDA

Hope to see you soon!