Glass Blowing and Lenses

Activities in the glass blowing lab

Photo of Peter Houk holding a glass sphere that he made. Photo of artist Peter Houk laying out dozens of white glass rods on a table. Photo of a glassblower working with hot glass. Photo of one glassblower heating glass at a furnace and another collecting hot glass at a second furnace. Photo of the white glass rods arranged in a neat row on a table. Photo of the row of white glass rods sticking to a glob of hot glass that was rolled over them. Photo of the hot glass glob with the cool rods being rolled across a metal table. Photo of a glassblower crouching and blowing into a metal pipe. Photo of the glass vase just before being removed from the blowpipe on which it was made. Photo of a glassblower rolling another glob of hot glass with white rods that will become a second vase. Photo of a glassblower making a vase out of the second set of white rods. Photo of a glassblower rolling the rod with the vase he's building back and forth on a metal support. Photo of a glassblower removing the first vase from the annealing oven. Photo of students crowded around the combined vases, still on the blowing rod. Photo of the criss-cross pattern on the newly-formed combined vase. Photo of a glassblower rolling the vase on a metal table. Photo of the glassblower reforming the vase with a wood paddle. Photo of the glassblower shaping the end of the vase with a pair of tongs. Photo of the vase glowing bright orange with heat. Photo of a glassblower reshaping the vase on a metal table. Photo of a student shining a flashlight through a grid on a curved piece of plastic. A student looks through two different lenses, held in clothespin supports. Photo of a student arranging and looking through lenses. Photo of a student comparing two lenses. Photo of the student comparing a lens to a glass sphere. Photo of a first aid sign seen through a lens. Photo of the lettering on the first aid sign as seen through a lens, appearing upside-down. Photo of a student looking through two lenses placed one in front of the other on a table. Photo of a student's drawing on plexiglass made while viewing through a lens. Photo of a student looking at the night sky through lenses she's holding at arm's length above her. Photo of a student sitting outdoors at night and looking through a lens.