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Free glassmaking demos aboard a floating barge have arrived at Brooklyn Bridge Park

A floating glassblowing studio and a flotilla of historic ships have cast their anchors at Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Through May 28, you can climb aboard the GlassBarge, which is afloat on the East River, to learn about glassmaking from experts from the Corning Museum of Glass.

The barge will start running free, 30-minute demonstrations every day from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Glass is repeatedly returned to a reheating furnace which is 2200 degrees Fahrenheit aboad the launch of GlassBarge, a mobile glass blowing studio on a canal barge, at Pier 5 in Brooklyn, Thursday, May 17, 2018.
Glass is repeatedly returned to a reheating furnace which is 2200 degrees Fahrenheit aboad the launch of GlassBarge, a mobile glass blowing studio on a canal barge, at Pier 5 in Brooklyn, Thursday, May 17, 2018. Photo Credit: Corey Sipkin

Not only can you learn how delicate glass figures are made, but you’ll learn about the role of New York’s waterways in the state’s industry, culture and communities.

The Corning Museum of Glass was originally the Brooklyn Flint Glass Company, which was closed in 1873 after the company moved upstate to Corning, according to cutglass.org.

The barge started its tour in celebration of Corning’s 150th anniversary in Brooklyn as sort of a homecoming, and will hit 16 more spots via New York waterways through Sept. 22, when it will finally return to Corning.

“We are excited to launch our GlassBarge journey at Brooklyn Bridge Park, mere blocks from where the Corning story began,” said Rob Cassetti of the museum in a statement.

A flotilla of historic ships, including a replica of an 1862 canal barge and a 1964 tugboat, followed alongside the GlassBarge on its way to Brooklyn and are open to free tours, as well.

To register for glassblowing presentations, go online at cmog.org. Demonstrations can still be seen from the shore if you don’t register.