On June 23, 1972, Corning suffered a major natural disaster. Tropical Storm Agnes inflicted three days of incessant rain on western New York and Pennsylvania. Corning's normally peaceful Chemung River became a torrent. The river overflowed its dikes, and downtown Corning was inundated. At the Museum, the glass collection was partly submerged and books were swept from their shelves. Six weeks later, thanks to heroic efforts by staff and volunteers, the Museum reopened.

The campus of The Corning Museum of Glass is a collection of modern glass architecture, influenced by three generations of architects, each with the goal of creating a fluid space and incorporating glass wherever possible. This video features Laurie Hawkinson, architect.

The Library was established as part of the Museum in 1951. Today, it houses the world's largest and finest collection of resources on the art and history of glass. Much of the collection consists of unique items, such as the archives and original design drawings for stained glass. This video features Diane Dolbashian, head librarian at the Rakow Research Library of The Corning Museum of Glass.

The Corning Museum of Glass has always been a cultural, educational, and economic center for the surrounding region. Groups, such as the Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes, rent the Museum's auditorium and other public spaces for performances and other activities. Almost all of the Museum's public events—from artists' lectures to the popular 2300° program—are free. In addition, free admission for young people results in visits to the Museum by more than 13000 regional schoolchildren each year.

The Studio, which opened in 1996, is an internationally renowned teaching facility that offers classes in a variety of glassmaking techniques to students of all ages and skill levels. Artists and students come from all over the world to teach, to learn, and to create their own work in glass. The Studio also offers artist residencies, scholarships, studio rentals, and group and individual hands-on experiences.

In 1929, Corning Glass Works accepted a commission to make a 200-inch Pyrex disk for use in a reflecting telescope on Mount Palomar in California. After several trial castings of smaller disks, Corning poured a 200-inch disk in 1934. When part of the mold broke loose, the disk was ruined, but it was annealed (cooled slowly) as an experiment to gather information necessary for a second, successful casting later that year. This is the initial disk, which has been displayed at the Museum since it opened.

The Museum's glass conservators care for a collection of more than 45000 objects spanning 35 centuries. In addition to addressing issues such as crizzling (glass deterioration), they restore damaged pieces. One example is the Tiffany lamp shown here. It came to the Museum in many pieces of various sizes—from tiny chips to large fragments. It took several months to restore the lamp. This video features Steve Koob, conservator for The Corning Museum of Glass.

These blinds led to the arrival of glassmaking in Corning. Elias Hungerford, who patented the blinds in 1866, looked for a glass factory that would make them. He persuaded the owner of the Brooklyn Flint Glass Works to move to Corning, where both land and labor were less expensive. The original Corning factory was built on Walnut Street, where the headquarters of Corning Incorporated is located today. Hungerford's blinds were never manufactured. In its early years, Corning Glass Works concentrated on making blanks for cutting.

Curators occasionally make surprising discoveries. Before the Museum acquired this object, it was identified as an 18th-century Indian spittoon. The surface is crizzled (that is, it has begun to deteriorate). The curator had never seen an example of crizzled Indian glass, so he looked at it closely. To his surprise, it has a decorated seal that shows it was made in England by the famous 17th-century glassmaker George Ravenscroft. The object is very rare indeed.

Outreach is an important part of the Museum's mission. Each year, the Museum's mobile hot shop travels to art fairs and other museums, providing live glassblowing demonstrations. An all-electric hot shop also sits on the top deck of three Celebrity Cruises ships, where Museum glassmakers present narrated demonstrations. This video features Steve Gibbs, hot glass programs manager for The Corning Museum of Glass.