I had my preconceived notions of what a corporate branded museum would look like, but I was only partially right. I thought there would be a gallery on the company’s products and a PR video on the innovations it gave to the glass industry. Turns out, it’s part glass history museum, part science museum, and part modern art gallery. All glass themed, of course.
I didn’t connect with the modern art made from glass, I think it’s vain. But I did enjoy looking at tiny Hellenistic perfume glass vessels from the Mediterranean and Ptolemaic glass plaques with painted Greek motifs. Who would’ve known that humans started using glass since the Bronze Age?
Early glass from East Asia contained high levels of lead and barium, which helped lower its melting point. These elements were also commonly used by metal smiths at the time so it’s likely glass workers collaborated with metalworkers.
There are several glass demonstrations to watch, all of them with plenty of scientific explanation. I watched the glass-breaking demonstration that showed the difference between regular, laminated, and tempered glass. Then, I watched a live glass-making demonstration and learned that Corning made the windshield for the space shuttle and made the glass for fibre optic cables.
Adjacent to where all the demonstrations are taking place is a small gallery on the industrial applications of glass. Windshields, Fresnel lamps from a lighthouse, and railway signals – all sorts of transportation require the use of glass.
When you’re done, admire the obligatory Chihuly. Then, go buy some cool stuff in the gift shop. Or at least look so you regret what you don’t buy.
