There’s a lot to take in here and it’s hard to stop gazing at the more than 40,000 breathtaking objects reflecting 3,500 years of glass making history located in the Corning Museum of Glass found in America’s, Crystal City. The museum, reopened in 2001 after undergoing a $65 million renovation, is home to the world’s most comprehensive collection of modern and contemporary glass.

Yvette Sterbenk, Communications Manager for the museum said, We’ve been collecting, exhibiting and documenting contemporary art, craft and design in glass since we opened in 1951. Sterbenk goes on to explain, we don’t manufacture glass here but we do have live glassmaking demonstrations that are a huge draw. There’s something for everybody to see and do She was right.

Before you begin, invest in the renting the hand held audio device that you put to your ear. It will save you lots of reading and the animated narration is detailed and educational.

The Heineman Collection

This collection was acquired over a 30 year period and is valued at $9.5 million. It was donated by Ben and Natalie Heineman in 2006 and is one of the largest private collections of contemporary glass in the world. Ben Heineman was the former Chairman and CEO of Northwest Industries in the United States. Near this collection check out the exceptional works of Louis Comfort Tiffany and Paul Stankard.

Just a Little Something Heavy to Hold Paper

In the West Bridge Gallery the evolution of the paperweight from the mid-19th century to the present is on display. More than 1000 paperweights and related items from around the globe illustrate a variety of significant changes in the paperweight. See the world’s first 100-pound paperweight by contemporary artist Josh Simpson. Entitled, Megaplanet it is a luminous orb of kaleidoscopic landscapes and underwater worlds encapsulated in glass, and the world's largest glass paperweight. If you're not familiar with Simpson's orbs, they are uniquely lovely. There’s even an opportunity to make your own colourful paperweight out of molten glass in workshops under the careful direction of expert staff glass makers.

Watch Expert Glass Blowers at Work

Live narrated hot glass blowing shows are held each day beginning at 9:45 a.m. and run throughout the day. If you want, submit a drawing of something you’d like to see made in glass and if you get the glass blowers eye they might try and produce it for you. Visitors of all ages can also blow, and shape molten glass under the watchful eyes of professional glass blowers.

Time-Limited Exhibits

The Glass Flowers of Harvard (To November 30,2007)
Don’t be fooled by the flowers in this exhibit. They look so real like you’ll think you would be able to smell their glorious aromas. You won’t. These breathtaking, delicate and oh so realistic lifelike glass flowers, fruits, tree branches and grasses look like they have been just picked from the garden. Between 1887 and 1936 in Dresden, Germany Leopold Blaschka and his son Rudolph created these marvelous works of art to be used as study models in Harvard University’s Botanical Museum. The original workbench and other items from Blaschas’ turn-of-the-century studio are here. The display is on loan from Harvard University.

Before You Leave

Leave time to check out the cool gift shop filled with lots of funky glass merchandise. The staff are friendly and will make sure they wrap your purchases carefully to ensure they’ll arrive home in one piece.

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George Bailey is a professional photographer and writer. He is a member of the Travel Media Association of Canada and writes a regular column for Canadian CAA Magazine. He can be contacted at Wonderful.life@sympatico.ca. Photos courtesy of George Bailey.