Inside the Corning Museum of Glass

This article contains affiliate links. We may receive compensation if you make a purchase using one of these links at no additional cost to you. See our Disclaimers and Terms of Use for more information.

Discover what it’s like to visit the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York.

As we entered The Corning Museum of Glass, we read: “Glass is different things to different people. At The Corning Museum of Glass, you will discover the many things glass can be.” During our visit, we discovered art, history and science through glass. We even found beauty through glass.

Corning Museum of Glass

The museum has an extensive collection of glass that spans 3,500 years. Mandy Kritzeck, Content & Media Specialist, gave us a personal tour and made sure that we saw the highlights. We started the tour by checking out the contemporary section. We were drawn to the whimsical art made by Ginny Ruffner and the fiberglass bowls made by Toots Zynsky.

The most photographed piece in the contemporary section, if not the entire museum, is the chess set made by Gianni Toso, a Venetian artist, in 1981. The chess set is quite unique with Jewish and Catholic religious figures standing in for the normal kings and knights. The crosses and Torahs add to the fascinating board game’s religious theme.

The museum’s historical collections provide glimpses into past civilizations including Egypt, Rome and Islam. The pieced-together black hemispherical bowl with an inlaid nihilistic scene from Rome, circa 4th – 5th century A.D., is a true treasure in terms of both art and history.

There are lots of interesting collections from bowls to vases to furniture. We were drawn to the snuff bottle collection with its Asian flair.

Portraits are always interesting, especially when they span the centuries.

One of the museum’s highlights is the Louis Comfort Tiffany window. Designed for an estate in Irvington-on-Hudson, the window reminded us of the Dream Garden at the Curtis Building in Philadelphia.

During our walk through the Innovation Center, we learned how glass is used from the mundane (casseroles) to the electronic (cell phones) to the exotic (spaceships). It was interesting to hear how Corning invents products before their uses are fully realized, which is what happened with the glass that is now used for computer screens.

The interactive exhibits are perfect for kids of all ages, including big kids like us.

As we checked out the many scientific applications for glass, it was good to get a reminder of where much of the Corning legend began. It’s not every day that you can see a giant tower of casseroles.

After viewing the various and vast collections, it was fun to take a break to watch glass actually get made. The hot glass show featured two gaffers, i.e. master glassmakers, making a decorative vase. These master glassmakers made the vase in a 2300 degree furnace. Interestingly, the video camera inside the furnace was developed for use in the space industry.

Once we saw glass get made, it was time for the 2foodtrippers to try our hands at making glass ourselves. Kurt Carlson guided us through the process of selecting colors and creating glass flowers from scratch. Since the flowers needed to cool overnight, the museum mailed the flowers to us in Philadelphia.

If we make glass flowers again, hopefully they’ll look better then the two flowers we created on this first visit. Then again, it takes years of practice to be a real glass artisan like those featured at the Corning Museum of Glass.

We recommend planning a visit in conjunction with a trip to the Finger Lakes. Also, when you go, don’t skip the museum’s colorful gift shop with glass items from local and global artists and companies.