5 Reasons Why the Corning Museum of Glass is Worth the Trip

If you haven't made your way to Corning, New York to explore the area and of course, the Museum of Glass, we think you should. Actually, we have a few great reasons why we think you should make the trip...

1 - You Can Make Your Own Glass: You've probably heard that you can do this at the Corning Museum of Glass before. But if you've never done it before, you don't know how great of an event it is. First of all, you're not working in a class with 40 other people, it's like a one-on-one hands on experience.

Just check out this flower:

I made that in August at the museum. It was a lot bigger and a lot better of an experience than I thought it was going to be - And I already thought it was going to be pretty cool. It does cost extra to make your own glass, and cost depends on what you decide to make. You can get the full details and prices at: CMOG.org

2 - There's So Many Demonstrations to See: From learning about the history of "The Crystal City" and how glass-making transformed a small town in New York, to watching glassblowing and glass-forming demonstrations, there's a lot to take in. Luckily, many of these demos run a few times a day so you can plan your day around them. The one you definitely NEED to check out is the "Don't Try This at Home" show. You'll learn a lot about what happens to glass when it's pushed to its limits and other crazy things you can do with hot glass.

3 - Buy Something Awesome to Remember Your Day: A trip to the museum wouldn't be complete without a stop into the gift shop. The gift shop at the Corning Museum of Glass is impressive... to say the least. From little trinkets and goodies for the young ones, to collectible and art pieces, it has everything. There's even games and decorations. You could spend a good hour just browsing the gift shop.

4 - You Can Wander and Learn By Yourself: The demonstrations are great, but there are also a lot of exhibits that don't have guides. You can see old artifacts of glass, glass used as musical instruments, even the artistic side of glass items. We learned about a giant punch bowl that was cut out of glass during the "History of the Crystal City" demo. They told us it was on display, so we went and found it in the museum - It was almost like a scavenger hunt. Not only can you look for things you learn about throughout the day, but you can just take your time and wander about the museum as you please.

5 - Good Way to Spend a Quality Afternoon with the Family: The museum is open from 9am to 8pm every day during the summer. After Labor Day their hours are 9am to 5pm every day. Let's just say, you can spend that entire time wandering the museum, watching the demos, and making your own glass, and still not see everything. You'll want to get to the museum early in the day, just so you have enough time to check out everything you want to.

And while you're at the museum, you can take a quick break and get something to eat in their cafeteria. They have tons of food options from freshly made sandwiches, chicken tenders and fries, fruit parfaits, pizza, cookies, and more.

As we said earlier, a trip to the Corning Museum of Glass is definitely worth it, and it really isn't that far of a drive. The museum is about three hours from the Utica area. Check out the website to get more information and details for planning a trip, at: CMOG.org

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