Corning, NY Summary

Forty miles southwest of Ithaca, world-famous Steuben Glass has been manufactured in the otherwise undistinguished town of CORNING since Frederick Carder started making his characteristic Art Nouveau pieces in 1903. The excellent Museum of Glass in the Corning Glass Center traces its history from ancient heads and amulets to modern sculptures and paperweights. Also in the complex, where glass is omnipresent in mirrors and motifs, are the Hall of Science and Technology, full of push-button exhibits, and the Steuben Glass factory itself, where every stage of the production process can be viewed from behind (glass) screens (daily: July & Aug 9am-8pm; Sept-June 9am-5pm; tel 607/937-5371; $11).