Sandwich Glass Museum facts for kids
The Sandwich Glass Museum is a cool place in Sandwich, Massachusetts, where you can explore the amazing world of glass. It has a huge collection of rare and beautiful glass, including special pieces made right there in Sandwich by the Boston & Sandwich Glass Factory. This famous factory was started in 1825 by a person named Deming Jarves. They were known for making colorful glass, especially a type called lead-based glass. At the museum, you can also watch a real glass blower create art and learn how different types of glass get their colors and shapes.
Discovering Sandwich Glass
The museum shows off many different kinds of glass. You can see how glass styles changed over time. Each part of the museum focuses on a different period or a special way glass was made. It's like a journey through glass history!
How Glass is Made
Making glass is a fascinating process! The museum has a special oven, called a furnace, that heats clear glass to a super-hot temperature. After glass items are shaped, they need to cool down very slowly. The museum uses a special computerized annealing oven to do this. This slow cooling, which can take a whole day, helps stop the glass from cracking.
What You Can See and Do
When you visit, you can watch a live glass blower in action! They show how glass is blown, shaped, and even how colorful bits are added to make unique designs. What they create can change depending on the time of year or upcoming holidays. The museum also plays a historical movie once every hour, which tells the story of glass making in Sandwich. After exploring all the galleries, you can visit the shop. It has cool items made by the museum's artists and other special glass pieces.
External Links
- Sandwich Glass Museum Official Website: http://www.sandwichglassmuseum.org/
