Explore Our Digital Guide - Pittsburgh Glass Center Skip to content Explore Our Digital Guide Explore More Of Pittsburgh Glass Center With Our Free Digital Guide Pittsburgh Glass Center is excited to link you to our digital guide, available through Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and cultural app created by Bloomberg Philanthropies. Our digital guide, available as a web app or as a mobile app from Google Play or the App Store, makes Pittsburgh Glass Center accessible for either onsite or offsite visits through photo, audio, and video features offering insights into the science, art, and history of glass in Pittsburgh. Explore the digital guide now How to use the guide Visit our guide on the web or download the app from the App Store or Google Play Store . Once you install and open the app, search for or scroll to Pittsburgh Glass Center to start planning your visit! When you arrive, look for a Bloomberg Connects icon near our self-guided tour stops and enter the lookup number to access exclusive content. Headphones are recommended. About the digital guide The free Pittsburgh Glass Center digital guide joins more than 750 cultural institutions around the globe on the Bloomberg Connects platform. Pittsburgh Glass Center was the first organization on the app that is dedicated to glass art and combines both visual and performance art. Locally, we are joined by The Andy Warhol Museum Contemporary Craft , and Silver Eye Center for Photography to represent the Pittsburgh area in the growing collection of digital guides. Pittsburgh Glass Center’s guide complements an onsite self-guided tour of the facility and enhances that experience with additional educational audio and video content. The PGC tour through Bloomberg Connects, narrated by Emmanuel Chumaceiro, is a useful way to prepare for a visit to PGC helping people understand what to expect, orienting them to the unique space, and promoting thoughtful conversation and exploration about the science, art and history of glass. Bloomberg Connects offers free digital guides to cultural organizations around the world. The app platform is part of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ longstanding commitment to supporting digital innovation in the arts. Bloomberg Connects makes it easy to access and engage with arts and culture from mobile devices when visiting in person, or anytime from anywhere. With dynamic content exclusive to each partner organization, the guides provide a range of features including video, audio, and text; expert commentary; and way-finding maps. Follow Bloomberg Connects on Threads , and for updates on new guide launches, exhibit highlights, and more. Hot Shop Activities With the help of an instructor, participants will learn how to transform 2,000°F molten glass into a unique glass artwork. Sculpted items will be manipulated and shaped with various metal hand tools. Blown items will be inflated via a flexible tube attached to a blow pipe. The Hot Shop, as the name might suggest, can get warm at times, particularly during summer months. That being said, the activity will only take about 10-15 minutes per person so you won’t be warm for long. We encourage our guests to wear lighter, natural material clothing for safety and comfort. Visitors are welcome to bring water bottles and a water fountain/filling station is available. These activities will involves sitting, standing, and walking around. Suitable for ages 5 and up. Kiln Shop Fusing Activities Combine brilliantly colored pieces of glass granules and thin glass strands to create a one-of-a-kind luminous fused glass artwork. Once you design it, we’ll fire it, so that all pieces become one. Participants will work seated in our climate-controlled Classroom and with room temperature pieces of glass. You will begin with a glass tile that acts as your “canvas,” then arrange the colorful glass granules and thin glass strands into a design of your choosing. Once the designs are complete, suncatchers are placed in a kiln overnight to melt (fuse) together forever. Suitable for ages 5 and up. Flame Shop Activities With the help of an instructor, participants will learn how to use tools and a tabletop torch to melt and manipulate glass rods and transform them into truly one-of-a-kind objects. These activities take place in our climate controlled Flame Shop, which involves working with a flame, but is not nearly as warm as our Hot Shop. Participants will be sitting at a workstation, making this option slightly more accessible and less physically demanding. Suitable for ages 8 and up. ARTISTS EDUCATORS SHOP JOIN & GIVE DONATE NOW