Cutaway view of the light and heavy chest

Backstage, in video, Jade shows that the Light & Heavy Chest relies on an old technology that was new when this illusion was invented: electromagnetism.

Magicians are inventors and often explore the latest science to come up with new illusions. Magician and inventor Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin used electromagnetism, largely unknown in the late 1800s, to miraculously transform a light cash box into one too heavy to steal.

A hidden iron plate inside the chest feels the pull from an electromagnet hidden under the table. When Jade says the magic words in our custom-made version of this classic illusion, electric current flows and the magnet is on. The chest can't be moved and seems to be magically heavy.

But magic is more than a simple trick; the psychological fact that we don't expect objects to change on their own, and the art of performance, help to make this a successful illusion. Jade then introduces another transformation, done differently, that leaves visitors with a sense of wonder.

Backstage, you can play with an electromagnetic crane that lets you pick up materials that respond to a magnet, and leaves behind ones that don't. You can also discover just how common electromagnets are in objects you see and use every day.