The Corning Museum of Glass

Address:	1 Museum Way, Corning, NY 14830, USA
Phone:	+1 607-937-5371
Site:	cmog.org
Rating:	4.6
Working:	9AM–8PM 9AM–8PM 9AM–8PM 9AM–8PM 9AM–8PM 9AM–8PM 9AM–8PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 6

Brian

We stopped in Corning, NY as part of a trip across the state. We planned to see the Corning Museum of Glass as something to do to break up the trip. There was a flaw in this plan. We didnt know how wonderful and interesting this place would be and we wanted more time there than we had. We all loved it. The museum is beautiful. Exceptionally well done and served by a warm, kind staff. We tried to do most of the place as time allowed. We started with the hands-on studio. This is a fun event for family (tip: reserve this ahead of time if you are interested). We all made little glass pieces. I made a blown xmas ornament. We expect them to arrive any day now - they ship them the next day as they are extremely hot and need to cool slowly. Next, we watched a glass blowing demo over in the museum. It was relaxing and educational. The "gaffer" made a gorgeous pitcher. Then, they had us pull out our entry tickets and they gave away a similar hand-made piece made from the day before! We made our way through the historical section for a while. If you like glass, art, and history, this area is the motherlode. If was almost overwhelming. Tons of history and examples. There was also a contemporary art glass area that was one amazing art piece after another. For me, the most interesting part was the section on what Ill call "daily interaction with glass". There were a number of great exhibits about practical use of glass (bottles, windshields, optics, mirrors, plate/flat glass, fiber optic cable, etc) and what it took to develop it and how it is used. This was fascinating to me. The exhibits were generally genius in their presentation. My favorite might be the gigantic failed/cracked telescope mirror. Or perhaps fiber optic (who knew what is behind something we use unknowingly every day). There is much to see and learn. On the way out, we even got a nice little deal on some drinking glasses in the gift shop. Its difficult to come up with any negatives on this place. We had such a nice time there. Highly recommended!

Tracie M

Let me start by saying that the commercials for this place do it no justice because I had no idea it was so art oriented which, was totally OK with me as my daughter and I spend lots of time in art museums. The building is beautifully designed, clean industrial lines and curves, and is deceptively large. We spent 6 hours walking through all of the exhibits and made it to all of the demos. Only a few things I didnt like, but Im a reasonable person so they were not a big deal... the hands on "classes" are short, but I get it as there are lots of visitors that need to be fit in. Parking, ugh parking, small area, confusing signage. Food/cafeteria staff were not too pleasant, they all had looks of misery on their faces. The staff at the admissions desk and the people running demos were all very friendly and helpful, however. If anyone from the museum is reading this, please add more exhibits about the history of the Corning name/products, and how theyre in use in todays world. All in all it was well worth the trip and time spent.

Mary Kramer

Very disappointed!!! Was basically kicked out of the "FAMILY" activity room, where u make your own glass project, because my 2 year old son wouldnt wear his safety glasses, even though we were making a family mobile, only 1 other family was in there with us and he wasnt facing the table where the glass was, I told the guy he could take all of the cutting tools and wed just use what was on the table, but it was his way or no way, our only other choice was to push my 2 year old son on the other side of the roped off area by himself, which is completely crazy!! And Id hope he wouldnt do that to his own kid!!! I feel if this is that big of a problem there should be a age limit or something stating rules!! It really was disappointing for a 2.5 hr trip with 5 kids who thought they were going to make their own Lil glass creation!!! WONT BE RETURNING!!! The only reason I gave it 2 stars was because the customer service lady of the main building was very nice and they did have other interesting shows. But Kurt should be fired!!

An Reviewer

This is a great place to go if you want to see art glass and have some glass history. I may be the only person who felt this way but I was expecting to see more of the type of glass that made Corning famous--some kitchen and home things, history of how that has evolved. There is none of that. I also was hoping to learn more about how the Corning "gorilla glass" made the iPhone possible, again, not there. Good points: * Glass exhibits of art glass and history of art glass are beautiful. * Very good science of glass items, esp "copper" vs. "fiber optics" for network speeds. * Cafeteria has plenty of space and good variety of food types/costs. Otherwise: * Facility is very crowded. * Confusing when you park. The building in the parking lot is *not* the museum, you either have to walk or take the bus--the museum itself is in the next block over. * Gift shop is expensive with a lot of high-priced art-glass items, hard to find souvenirs. They do have plans to expand which should make a positive improvement!

Jason Palfreyman

10:03! We scheduled an glass making appointment for 10. Due to bad rain, we were going to be getting to the museum 10 minutes late. We called in and said we were going to be a few minutes late, they told us to drive safe and slow and we can go to the 10:40 session. About 5 minutes later we received a phone call from them telling us that we couldnt do that session and the next closest one was 6ish! So we sped all the way there to make the 10 session. We pulled into the parking lot at 10 and ran into the museum at 10:03. THEY DIDNT LET US IN! 3 FREAKING MINUTES!! The amount of time it takes for someone in the session to leave the room, go to the bathroom, and come back! UN FREAKING BELIEVABLE. Now if it was 10:15, I would give it to them. They need to keep to a schedule and 15 minutes is late. But 3 minutes. Embarrassingly terrible for them. They were "nice enough" to give us a refund cause apparently they dont do that. But again, I do NOT understand 3 MINUTES. Ruined the rest of my stay.

Jan Smith

This place offers quite the diversity of exhibits and demonstrations. We watched a blown glass demo in the hot shop amphitheater, where the cameras showed close up, the detail that we couldnt see. There are even cameras behind a small hole in the ovens to see what is going on inside. A flamework demo showed a lady making a glass penguin from glass rods. Also a fiber optics demo explained how the fibers are made and work. There is a contemporary gallery, a huge gift shop, cafeteria, and my favorite exhibit, titled 35 Centuries of Glass, but this is evidently a changing exhibit. It had examples of glass over the millennia, intertwined with world history and Corning history. Best part is that your ticket is good for 2 consecutive days, the museum is open until 8pm in the summer, offers military/senior/AAA and other discounts, and there is a free shuttle to the downtown area and back that runs 9am-8pm daily. Free parking as well.