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Your kids have always dreamed about going off to Hogwarts. And it’s probably not a stretch to say that you might be dreaming of sending them there right now just so they’d have something to do. A Youth Services Librarian and Harry Potter fan is making both of your wishes come true… sort of. Created by Sydney Krawiec, Youth Services Librarian at Peters Township Public Library in Pennsylvania, the Hogwarts Digital Escape Room gives you and your kids a chance to, well, escape from real life and into the world of Harry Potter.

(Don’t tell the kids, but they’ll be learning real world lessons along the way.)

Warner Bros.

The adventure begins on the first night at Hogwarts after the great feast to celebrate the start of a new school year. As sorted students shuffle off to their House common rooms for the evening, the prefects announce a game inspired by one of the Muggles’ newest fads: escape rooms. Can the students escape to make their way out and get back to the safety of the common room?

Clues are given and students must answer questions and riddles to proceed. There’s no Harry Potter book or movie trivia to be found here. Instead, we have questions about the Dewey Decimal System (be still our beating nerd hearts), math to convert galleons to knuts, and more puzzles that must be solved correctly before the next part of the escape room opens.

Warner Bros.

The digital escape room is all presented brilliantly through a Google Form, offering multiple choices to give your answers. While the experience is clearly written with the love for children’s education that a Youth Librarian has, this digital escape room is an excellent way to get happily lost in the halls of Hogwarts for just a little while.

Featured Image: Warner Bros.

Kelly Knox is a freelance writer in Seattle, WA who writes for Star Wars, DC Comics, and more. Follow her on Twitter.

The post Head to Hogwarts with HARRY POTTER Digital Escape Room appeared first on Nerdist.

Source: JD/WENN.com / WENN

While out shopping for essential items yesterday (May 2), actress Debbi Morgan was compelled to go on social media and share her concern for how African-American communities are impacted by COVID-19. In a video she posted to Instagram, she tearfully described how hard blacks have been  hit financially and health wise since the pandemic began.

“This is my first day [out] in about 12 days…,” she said. “I don’t know, for some reason I just feel overcome with such emotion. I just want all of us to get through this, to the other side, especially within our black communities. People are sick and dying, so many of us are dying. And we can’t put food on the table for our children. We can’t pay our rent, we can’t pay our mortgages.”

To those feeling defeated, she also offered words of encouragement to instill hope during such a devastating time.

“Our ancestors are strong people, and we got through slavery. We are still a strong people, we will get through this. But we gotta be smart and stay safe. Because we cannot and will not be broken.”

It has been shown that African-Americans have been disproportionately affected by the deadly virus and have not had access to testing sites in the same way that white, wealthier communities have. For example, in Chicago black people make up 29 percent of the population but account for 70 percent of coronavirus deaths in the city. In Louisiana, 33 percent of the population black but 70 percent of the deaths due to COVID-19 were black. Blacks constitute 14 percent of New Jersey’s population but 20 percent of those who died from COVID-19 are black.

One of the reasons why blacks have been dying at higher rates is because of underlying illnesses, according to experts. Sherita Golden, M.D., M.H.S., a specialist in endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism and chief diversity officer at Johns Hopkins Medicine, reported that black people have a “higher burden of chronic health conditions associated with a poor outcome from COVID-19, including diabetes, heart disease and lung disease.” Dr. Golden also pointed out that inconsistent access to health care, living in crowded homes, working in essential fields and stress puts people of color at a higher risk.

Watch Morgan’s video below.

For the third year in a row, Gold House officially kicks off AAPI Heritage Month by announcing their annual list of influential Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander leaders who have impacted the globe. Click here to check out the full 2020 list. This year’s honorees come from all walks of life — from pop […]

The Division 2 started off great when it launched in March of last year. I even called it the only looter shooter worth playing. While that was true for a while, a succession of gear-nerfing patches and so-so narrative-driven DLCs marred the experience. Knowing the fanbase’s dissatisfaction, Massive Entertainment returned to the proverbial drawing board to craft something players could get behind. As such, we now have Warlords of New York. This expansion succeeds at invigorating the franchise thanks to a new setting and user-friendly progression system. This is exactly what The Division 2 needed.

As I went over in my preview, The Division 2: Warlords of New York brings the series back to The Big Apple. The story centers on Aaron Keener, a rogue agent who appeared in the first game. He, along with four other rogues, have locked down lower Manhattan and turned it into their own little kingdom. Keener’s ultimate goal is to disrupt efforts to restore the old order and establish something new (with himself in charge, naturally). As a Division agent, it is your job to infiltrate lower Manhattan and stop Keener’s plans.

Though this is Manhattan, players will not revisit any of the first game’s locations. This makes the setting both familiar and new. The big difference between this Manhattan and that of the first game is the time of year. Snow and ice have given way to plant-covered streets and buildings. As with the core game’s Washington D.C. location, nature is slowly reclaiming its dominion. The summertime setting also helps keep the expansion within the timeframe of The Division 2. Considering how crazy the real-life New York City becomes during the summer, the setting seems fitting.

Getting to Keener means taking down his four rogue agents who have each taken over different neighborhoods. There’s a nice variety of levels that weren’t present in the first game. One mission has you fighting on an oil tanker while another has you blasting bad guys in an excavation site. Every level also has some mild puzzles for players to solve. While finding levers or shooting fuse boxes in order to advance may sound annoying, it prevents missions from becoming complete shooting galleries. Multiple pathways and hidden items keep things fresh upon subsequent replays. Overall, these are some of the series’ best maps.

The four rogue agent targets have unique weapons and abilities never before seen in the series. One agent has a holographic emitter that creates virtual clones of himself. Another has a deadly accurate sticky bomb launcher. Because of their weapons, boss battles are a highlight. Even better, you can actually use these new weapons after taking out a boss. This gives Warlords of New York a bit of a Mega Man vibe. All of the weapons come in handy out in the field and work wonders against the other bosses.

Another Mega Man-like feature is tackling bosses in any order you desire. This is great for making the expansion feel more open-ended. With that said, there is no true advantage to this design choice. The basic plot unfolds the same no matter how you decide to tackle missions. It’s just nice to have the option.

The leveling system is now completely overhauled. Instead of having a total gear level (which tops out at 515), your character and their gear now only has a standard level. Once you hit the new level 40 ceiling, things open up considerably. You can now take attributes from different gear pieces and store them in the recalibration library. After that, you can add the stored attributes to your weapons and armor. This enables players to make a character build suited to their specific playstyle. Even when you reach level 40, you’ll still gain XP which you can use to continue making your character and weapons stronger.

While long-time players will hate having all their hard-earned customized gear from Washington D.C. turn useless, the new leveling system is a godsend. At a glance, it is easy to see what gear and attributes will suit you best. A lot of the guesswork no longer exists. This means players can customize their character and gear faster and more efficiently. At the same time, the system retains a nice level of depth for those who really want to dive in and tinker with numbers and values. It won’t take long before you see noticeable character improvements. Hitting level 40 isn’t a grind.

Warlords is only the beginning. The following weeks and months will see a steady stream of content that will keep fans satisfied (and away from other shooters). There will be new rogue agents to fight, new gear to test out, and even a brand new Raid. While we can’t say how successful this will all be, it’s good knowing Massive is sticking around for the long haul.

Warlords of New York is a great expansion. The lower Manhattan setting is fantastic and combines the best aspects of The Division 1 and 2. Each of the new bosses provides a satisfying challenge and their dropped weapons are fun to use. The fact we’ll see continual updates via Seasons leaves us wondering what’s coming next. I thought my time with The Division 2 had ended but it looks like it’ll eat up another 100 hours of my life this year. Considering how awesome Warlords of New York is, I have little to complain about. Let’s just hope Massive Entertainment can keep the momentum going.