Hello! My name is Dylan and I am a 5th Grade student at Arthur Stanlick Elementary School in Wharton, New Jersey. TREP$ has been one of my favorite experiences in 5th Grade. With the help of teachers and parent volunteers, I learned a great deal about creating and marketing an idea as well as building a business.
I have read all of the Harry Potter books and have seen most of the movies. I enjoy the Harry Potter series because they are entertaining, thrilling and original. As I’ve become a fan, I’ve started to collect a few of the Harry Potter wands, but I’ve found that they can be very expensive. A Harry Potter wand is a short piece of wood that has a special core. Wizards and witches use wands to cast spells or defend themselves. These wands are very popular and are in high demand amongst Harry Potter fans. For example, on Amazon, wands on average are $35 and Universal Studios sell wands for at least $40.
I chose to make Harry Potter wands so most kids and adults can own and enjoy them at a much affordable price. I began my research by watching youtube videos on how to make wands. I watched several ways, techniques and tricks on how to make them. I found that they can be easy to make and I was able to use my creativity to customize the wands. I made wands using chopsticks, hot glue, paint, beads, and other accessories. I researched the different kinds of wands and tried to replicate them to look like the real Harry Potter wands. After several tries, they looked close to the real ones. For several of the wands, I used my imagination and created something unique and different which turned out to be my favorite wands. With just using these items I had at home, I was able to create a product that I could sell for less than the market price.
I enjoyed TREP$ because it gave me a real experience on what entrepreneurs do on a daily basis. At the Marketplace, I was able to attract both the young and adult Harry Potter fans which is important in starting a business. I made over 40 wands and had 8 left over which I donated to my school’s Harry Potter club. This was the club that introduced me to Harry Potter so it made me feel happy knowing that some students in the club could benefit from my TREP$ experience.
I hope every 5th Grader could participate in TREP$ because it’s a great learning adventure!
