Corning Museum of Glass

“You’re never going to convince me that a glass museum is cool,” a friend of mine said. “It was surprisingly cool,” I said in retort. He was unmoved.

I know what you’re thinking: ‘A glass museum… that’s like the most boring kind of art museum possible.’ I thought the same thing, but it was actually really interesting!

Let me explain (mostly through photos):

After we toured the museum, we watched the Hot Glass Show, a live demonstration of glass making where a master glass maker hand blows a beautiful piece in front of a live audience. We had actually seen the show previously on the Celebrity Equinox, but it was still neat to see it again, since every time is different.

One of the coolest things you can do at the museum – no pun intended – is make your own glass. It’s a totally unique experience, unlike anything I’ve ever done before. B & I both made flowers, which is the most “hands on” thing you can do at the studio. I was very nervous that I would hurt the glass, but it’s surprisingly malleable when it’s hot. The glass has to cool for about 12 hours after you make it, so unfortunately we couldn’t take ours home with us since we were heading out of town. However, just two days later, our completed flowers arrived at our doorstep!

So there you have it: a glass museum that really is interesting! My best tip is to get there bright & early to avoid the hoards of tour buses that pull in later in the morning (Corning is half way between NYC & Niagara Falls, making it the perfect place to stop). The gift shop is also really expansive, so it’s worth building time into your schedule it check it out.

Note: Our visit to the Corning Museum of Glass & the Make Your Own Glass Studio was provided by the Corning Museum of Glass. All opinions are my own – I still would have thought it was cool even if I had paid my own admission!