Making glass (and more) at the Corning Museum of Glass in the Finger Lakes region of New York

This is my ten-year-old son, working with fire, to make a glass pendant at the Corning Museum of Glass in the Finger Lakes region of New York:

Can I just say that the Corning Museum of Glass rocks? Because it does. Really.

My kids loved making glass, watching others form glass into art and they even enjoyed walking through galleries of glass art, inspecting nearly every single piece. Really.

And they liked the hands-on learning stuff, too.

(I’ll admit standing on the section of the second floor that was glass and looking down kind of freaked me out, even though my brain knew it had to be safe. I might have to cross the Grand Canyon Skywalk off my travel to-do list. Gulp.  Other than that tiny heebie-jeebie part, I loved every bit of the museum. It was awesome.

 Here’s how our visit went:

The night before we visited, I signed us up and bought tickets for some hands-on glassmaking. I was able to find spots for all of us to make glass, and we were thrilled with what we made, but I really should have planned ahead to reserve some of the seasonal projects.

My ten year-old and I registered to make glass pendants. My husband, 5 year-old and 8 year-old signed up for glass fusing.

Since our class times were different, my husband and I divided the kids and explored, with our oldest and me heading straight to our class.

We were greeted by our instructor and given aprons, goggles and arm covers to wear for protection. We looked at other pendants, selected our designs and colors and then learned a bit about the flame and technique as our guide made an example for us and explained each step.

Then it was our turn to burn. Or create. Whatever.

My son got right to work, rolling the glass to keep it from falling and adding the decoration from other glass rods. I have to say I was impressed at how he kept cool, trying something he had never done (or seen) before and also working in front of the flame!

Next it was my turn and, after watching him, I wasn’t nearly as nervous as I expected to be. Plus, our guide was great at explaining things and helping every step of the way.

After that, we checked out some of the art in that building and then walked back over to the main part of the museum and watched the end of a glass-making demonstration with the rest of our family before exploring the rest of the museum on our own.

For the demonstration, there was plenty of room for kids to get right up close, and there was also a video screen for those farther away from the action.

My son spent about 45 minutes exploring the hands-on exhibits, but well over an hour looking at all the glass from different centuries and different parts of the world.

I didn’t expect him to be so intrigued at all the pieces, but he definitely was. He kept pointing out intricate details and referring to world events in the art that he had read about. (Not to self: All those Magic Treehouse books and 39 Clues books do teach something other than ‘just’ a love of learning!)

He was tickled by this chess set of Roman Catholic and Jewish characters.

We also enjoyed the glass market with a new appreciation after our class and after viewing the exhibits. As any boy would, he especially liked watching George Rhoads’ “Marble Machine.” Marbles roll along tracks to play the xylophone, ring other bells and do all sorts of crazy things:

We met back up with my husband and our other two children, took a few family photos in front of the giant Christmas tree of glass balls and decided to have lunch at the museum as well. The cafe served soups, sandwiches, pizza, pasta and other option and offered reduced-price kid-sized portions. The prices were definitely reasonable.

Bottom line:

I would definitely go back to the Corning Museum of Glass if I was back in the area with my kids. We spent several hours there and the kids were occupied and happy the entire time (as were the adults!). We loved making the glass and looking at the glass… and I know we’ll cherish our own art for years to come. If you are planning a trip to the Finger Lakes with kids, this is a definite must-do.

The Corning Museum of Glass

One Museum Way

Corning, NY

800.732.6845

Admission and fees:

The museum was kind enough to give us complimentary admission passes for our visit (kids and teens are free, adult passes range in price from $6 for locals with ID to $12.75- $15). The glass-making classes require a separate a fee, which we paid ourselves. (Classes range from $10 to $40 depending on the project.)