Massapequa’s Young Magicians

A Magic Workshop held at Bar Harbour Library recently showed children more than just a couple of tricks. 

“It encourages confidence,” magician Jim McClenahan, who ran the program, said, “It’s where [the children] can get in front of a stranger or aunt or uncle and show them something, almost like public speaking. It’s self esteem.” 

With an “easy,” “medium” and “hard” trick, the students, ranging from 8 to 12-years-old, were ready and eager to begin the session, one in particular asking McClenahan if he planned to start promptly at 7p.m. 

As McClenahan greeted students with questions about their summer and a couple of high fives, each table in the library's Children’s Room quickly filled up. 

“So far it looks like we have a lot of junior magicians in the making,” said Children’s Librarian Constance Smith, “The response has been excellent and we’ve had full registration. Jim has a great rapport with the kids. He’s a fantastic instructor.” 

The evening began with a dice trick, the goal being to magically change its color. With a simple shake of a container, the black magnetic die, which was placed over a smaller white die, attached to the cover of the container leaving the children with a new color and a completed trick.

Although only about 15 minutes into the program, many of the students were comfortable and willing to show off their new skills to their peers, exhibiting the confidence McClenahan alluded to. 

“I think it’s wonderful,” he said, “It’s funny because so many want to come up and there’s not enough time.” 

The “medium” leveled trick involved getting specified colored blocks to drop from a small box, even though there is seemingly no way to do so. The “hard” trick involved magically picking the right card from a stack of four in an envelope. 

McClenahan went from table to table to assist the children and gave them props of their own to take home for practice. 

“He seems wonderful,” mother Cheryl Roach said after dropping over her 11 year old son, Stephen, “The kids have a blast.”

Judging from the laughter and excitement, it appears that Stephen and the rest of the students caught the same “magic bug” McClenahan did at that age after visiting an amusement park. 

“[The goal] is to bring more boys and girls to the library so that they can actually learn something and spark an interest in magic and take books out,” Smith said.

In addition to a confidence boost, McClenahan will certainly have students swiping their library cards, proving that there are indeed many facets to his presentation. 

“If you like magic, Mrs. Smith has a ton of magic books,” he said, concluding the program, to which a young boy responded, “I have an overdue magic book!”