What is glass? How is it formed? Students at Vestal High School had an opportunity to explore these answers and more when a customized, mobile glass-blowing unit arrived from Keystone College on October 19, courtesy of a grant from the Vestal School Foundation.
Craftsmen facilitated glass-blowing demonstrations that illustrated significant science and art concepts for the students. These included:
1. What is glass? How is it formulated and what makes up its substance?
2. “Striking,” a chemical/heat reaction that is unique to glass. A common example of striking is using copper-ruby striking to turn clear glass deep red when heat is applied.
3. An example of the physics principle “Prince Rupert’s Drop,” which demonstrated the strength/shatter properties of glass.
4. A variety of color reactions that occur with heat.
5. A demonstration of fiber optics, which shows the physical abilities of glass to stretch and become pliable, dependent on thickness. This includes an explanation of how it can carry light and electricity.
6. Color mixing and forms as art elements.
7. Career possibilities for glass-blowing artists.
Chemistry teacher Charles Arbuiso and Art Department Chair Melissa Restuccia collaborated to write a grant application “Firing up the Glass Furnaces for STEAM,*” which was awarded $2,000 by the Vestal School Foundation.
"When you think about STEM, you often think about computers and sitting behind them," said Melissa Restuccia. "We've moved to an age where we're learning a lot from YouTube videos and textbooks. But to actually see a Renaissance tradition, where you're working with a master craftsman, and then apprenticing, they're seeing how that works in real life."
Special thanks to the Vestal School Foundation for funding this opportunity for our students, and to Ward Roe, Dean of Art and Science at Keystone College, who was an integral part of bringing this experience to Vestal High School.
*STEAM = Science – Technology – Engineering – Art – Math