What: Glass blowing workshop in the Chemistry Department
When: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday and Friday
Where: Science and Nursing Building, Room 308, Boise State main campus
For a handful of students, summer school is about to involve flaming torches, molten glass and a pint-sized menagerie. Enrolled in a new summer offering called Chemistry 294, they will learn and practice the basics of glass blowing, which is a surprisingly chemical process.
Instructor Marie McCurry will begin the workshop with an 8 a.m. safety lecture Thursday and then jump right into bending glass into L and U shapes. At 10 a.m., students will attempt to make ice sickles, and at 1 p.m., they will up the ante with a caterpillar project.
On Friday, the class will create fish at 8 a.m., mice at 10 a.m. and finish with beads at 1 p.m. While the actual chemistry of glass blowing will not be taught in depth, the workshop is designed to give students experience working in a laboratory setting with sensitive instruments including a Meeker burner and gas/oxygen torch. They also will learn how to properly cut, flatten, bend, twist and join glass rods during the completion of five whimsical projects.
To set up photo or video opportunities during the workshop, contact Mike Journee using the details below.
For more information, contact Mike Journee, assistant director of media relations, at (208) 426-1517 or mikejournee@boisestate.edu.
About Boise State University:
Boise State is an emerging metropolitan research university of distinction and the largest university in Idaho with more than 19,000 students. The campus is home to 11 Idaho Professors of the Year since 1990. The colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business and Economics, Education, Engineering, Health Sciences, and Social Sciences and Public Affairs offer more than 200 academic programs.
