FOCUS IN

Students utilize glass art techniques and tools to create their exhibit artwork.

Kourtney Kositzke and Kevin Rau

The Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass provides extraordinary experiences to spark fun, kindle creativity, and illuminate learning for all. The museum was established in 1959 and has exclusively been a glass art museum since 2012. Admission is free, thanks to our founders John Nelson and Evangeline Bergstrom, along with Ernst and Carol Mahler. Each year, we provide over 200 exhibitions, classes, camps, and community events that invite people of all ages and backgrounds to experience glass art in our galleries, studio, and museum grounds. We are proud to be the only glass museum in Wisconsin, ranked in the top five glass museums in the country, and we are accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.

Community Connections
The Teen Voices in Glass exhibition and Glass Experience Days has been a signature two-part program at the museum since 2009. In 2012, coinciding with the museum’s new mission to focus exclusively on glass, the exhibition and related experience days focus solely on students working in that medium.

Being able to experience an art medium that many high-school students do not have access to inspires talented young artists in the area.

The process begins with Glass Experience Days, during which high-school students and their teachers visit the museum to learn advanced glass art techniques. With their newly acquired skills, students create work that is included in the Teen Voices in Glass exhibition.

The museum has developed deep community connections through these experiences, and thousands of teachers and students have participated in the program since its inception.

Teen Voices in Glass and Glass Experience Days are made possible by presenting sponsor Jewelers Mutual, along with Jack Richeson & Co., the Lilian Noble Memorial Fund, and Oshkosh Fine Arts Association.

A student bends a thin rod of glass called a stringer over a candle flame. Images courtesy of Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass.

Lasting Impact
The program continues to remain a popular and highly anticipated aspect of the museum. Each year on average, 200 students from approximately twenty schools from the Fox Cities region and beyond are empowered through hands-on glassmaking experiences. Being able to experience an art medium that many high-school students do not have access to inspires talented young artists in the area.

For more information about the museum and this program, please visit our website bmmglass.com.

Kourtney Kositzke is the education and community program manager at Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass in Neenah, Wisconsin. kositzke@bmmglass.com

Kevin Rau is the design and communications manager at Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass in Neenah, Wisconsin. rau@bmmglass.com