A feel good place, a must visit. Historic center with plenty of parking. Go alone or with friends. Plan your day around The Glass Museum. The library is close by for a restroom stop. The Daniel Webster Inn is another historic visit. The chowder here is well worth getting. Don't leave Sandwich without walking on The Boardwalk. read more

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A delightful and unexpected find in Sandwich, MA! This is a not to be missed museum as it is solely focused on the art of glass making. The exhibits show how glass making impacted Sandwich historically, but also brings it to the modern times with their special exhibits. However, the best part of the experience is the glass blowing demos that occurs hourly. It shows a local artist explaining and demonstrating how a glass object is crafted from molten glass. Clean bathrooms are readily available and there is a small parking lot in front of the museum. Discounted tickets are available through the local public library. read more

Sandwich Glass Museum - Glass globe on exhibit - Museums Near Me - Sandwich, Massachusetts

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We've passed this museum about a thousand time when down on the Cape. However one day, we decided to make it our destination place during a non-Nantucket weekend. Plenty of parking; a big lot, in fact. There are three parts to this museum. First, there is the museum proper. A timeline and timetable of the history of glass on Cape Cod, and Sandwich, and this particular old factory. The collection is amazing. If you're over 40 and grew up in the Commonwealth, you are certain to see pieces that you recognize or had in your home. A few funny little things along the way of the self-paced tour. Secondly, there is an actual working glass blowing section. Artisans of glass blow and show. It is quite impressive! They encourage questions too. Finally, there is one heck of a store where you can purchase wonderful pieces of glass they make on-site (we did - purple glass paperweight - see in the photo below). We collect the glass plates made on the Cape. One in each corner of the windows. Another Cape tradition. Lots of fun, learning, and reminiscing. Highly recommend a visit. We are sure to visit again. read more

Sandwich Glass Museum - Glass paperweight made by a Sandwich Glass Museum artisan. - Museums Near Me - Sandwich, Massachusetts

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This Sandwich glass museum is a must visit. History, science, beauty, economics, and more are all covered. The glass blowing demonstration alone is worth the price of admission. Wow! The history of the once predominant art of glass blowing and it's history and how it came to be in Sandwhich is extraordinary. Truly. There are so many beautiful displays of glass items throughout history and there are some really fun and interactive displays interspersed in this space. And the glass blowing demonstration seals the deal! Lovely gift shop for purchases.. Clean restrooms. You can spend hours and hours here and 1 hour is minimum recommendation. So glad there are artists and others keeping this art form alive! A visit is highly encouraged and recommended. read more

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This was my second time visiting the museum. I love seeing blown glass. The museum offers a blown glass demo throughout the day. Its fascinating to watch how a glass object is made. This museum covers the history of the Sandwich Glass Factory. You learn about the early glass blowers and see what they produced. They had a current exhibit of new glass pieces by current artists which was fabulous. I especially liked the glass birds that were on exhibit Be sure to check out their gift shop they have some amazing pieces of glass for sale. The items tend to be more on the expensive side read more

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I'll be generous and go with four stars but I'd say really about 3.5 unless you're really obsessed with glass. The museum looks pretty small from the outside but it is much larger than it appears with several exhibits, a gift shop and a demonstration space for glass blowing. Parking was easy, although the number of spots is a bit limited, and it's very easy to find this place from the highway. Entrance fee was $12 for adults which I thought was a bit steep for what you get here. There's a ton of historical glass pieces including the radioactive canary glass which contains uranium and is super cool to see under black light. Tons of candlesticks, salt cellars and lamps. There are some newer, more abstract pieces by contemporary glass artists that are interesting. My main complaints here are that some of the exhibits need some TLC. For example, in the exhibit opposite the glass blowing demonstration area, there were formerly rocks showing the minerals used in the process but it looks like the rocks fell off. The museum could also benefit from some cleaning of the glass panes and some of the accession information is literally written on old paper with someone writing in cursive. Kind of sad. Staff were very nice at check in and the glass blowing demonstration was interesting. read more

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We were driving down to the Cape, and I wanted my husband to see this museum. The collection of vintage glass is awesome. I had not been there for many years. They also have modern pieces. They do glassblowing demonstrations throughout the day. It is well worth a stop in Sandwich. read more

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Great museum with the history of the glass blowing and pressing in sandwich mass. The displays are so beautiful! There is a glass blowing demonstration hourly and a movie with the history hourly. It was glitchy but the info was presented. read more

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I live nearby and had thought about coming here for a few years. I was worried it was going to be small and we would be out of there fast. Wow was I surprised we spent about 90 minutes there They do a glass blowing every hour and there was so many great pieces of glass art to go along with great local history. I enjoyed coming here very much. read more

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Excellent. Had live glassblowing. The current exhibit has sea themed and space themed items. Really unique

What a fun, and beautiful museum. My mother-in-law asked us to come here with her for her birthday, and bring our almost 4 year old daughter. I held my breath a lot of the museum but my daughter loved it and was very good about "no touching!" The special exhibit "Electric Gorden of Unearthly Delights" Mundy Hepburn, Artist was spellbinding. My daughter and I stayed there for at least 15 minutes as she repeated "the art is BEAUTIFUL!" Every hour there's a glass blowing demonstration - which the rest of my family watched and said the glass blower made a pumpkin. The rest of the museum was beautiful too. We lucked into visiting the day of their fall glass pumpkin sale which was also great. Admission is reasonable and many libraries in the area have discount passes you can borrow. I'll be back when there's a new special exhibit. read more

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Admittedly when you say glass I think Seattle...Chihuly! So let's scale WAY back from that kids and here you have some serious history of glass and glass making in the states. Where this museum did not blow my mind the way admiring Chihuly does I am still a fan of glass blowing and glass. Most recently spotting the most beautiful candle holders at a vintage store in Paris that I am really regretting not purchasing I was hoping to spot others similar here, but I did not. What we did get was a very nice documentary, and a live -on the hour, every hour- glass blowing demonstration which is WAY cool! I'd say if you are interested in glass, you should most certainly pay this museum a visit. We had a nice time but I think it'd be a stretch to say I was really impressed by the works, the way I was the actual demonstration. I did learn I'm not a fan of lace glass. Fun little stop in the oldest town in Cape Cod. read more

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Fascinating look at the development of "Sandwich glass"! Lovely items on display, great gift shop. A "must see" when in the Sandwich area. read more

Museum Day for 2019 we opted to redeem our free museum for the Sandwich Glass Museum at my request. We were pleased with the glass blowing demonstration. The demonstrator was highly skilled and answered many questions. The actual museum portion is larger than I expected. It is interesting, but it had it's boring moments. The museum ended with a large gift shop which had some high end items to really affordable items. Would I go again? Probably not. But it did make for a fun afternoon! Could be a fun "rainy day" event on your next Cape Cod adventure. read more

We loved our docent, and the tour itself was well worth every penny. We went without kids, yes, but I can easily see how kids would LOVE this tour. (And kids usually hate tours. Be honest.) A great afternoon for us! read more

Very interesting and very affordable way to spend a couple of hours. Learned a lot. Parking on site. Don't miss the gender specific offerings in the restrooms. read more

I truly went to Sandwich for two reasons. 1) go to glass museum and watch the glass demo and learn more about glass 2) see the sandwich police car drive around. I was only successful in #1- going to the glass museum. Our kids loved it-- they had a treasure hunt and at the gift shop, the ladies gave them some glass marbles as a souvenir for doing the hunt. Although the museum was small, it had the demo which I was so very excited about. They guy made a cat and pumpkin. At the gift shop, I bought two kids books signed by the authors who were local authors. It's nice to support the locals. I highly recommend for families, glass lovers, going on a date, pit stop in between Plymouth Rock and Cape Cod. 10 stars!!! read more

You wouldn't think this is much, but it is. We lucked out and visited on a special "Free Museum" day. It was so amazing that we bought an item to support the museum. Who would have thought that glass making would be so interesting or historical. If you are in the area, you should plan to visit. read more

Sandwich Glass Museum - Just part of one display of one room. - Museums Near Me - Sandwich, Massachusetts

Cool museum for the artist at heart for glass blowing. There is a live demonstration as well as history of Sandwich's glass, a movie, and a gift shop. Quaint museum indeed. This museum is named after the town Sandwich. No, this museum is NOT about sandwiches but glass blowing! read more

Sandwich Glass Museum - Museums Near Me - Sandwich, Massachusetts

"Heart of Glass"- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGU_4-5RaxU A museum that's like Grandma's glassware collection or an antique shop. There are plenty of displays on the art&science of glassmaking, but the real bonus are the glass-blowing demos. The demonstrator shows how it takes skill to fashion liquid glass into delicate works of art. One can spend at least an hour. The best parts- Color&Chemistry (the science of glass), the glassblowing demo, the historic aspects of the Collection (complete with dioramas) and the Levine Lighting Collection. The Collection itself can come across as a random assortment. A WFCC classical music host has gotten overly enthusiastic over its antique paperweight collection. The special exhibits vary in quality, and the souvenir shop is good for getting gifts for older kids- or adults. Learn about glassmaking in Sandwich. Educational and fun! read more

Sandwich Glass Museum was a nice respite from the cold rain. We listened and watched the glass blower, and learned about the various minerals that colored early glass making. I was interested in the lead glass, and the advancement of pressed glass. There is a lot of glass collections, both antique and modern art, as well historical educational videos. I lost interest in some of the exhibits, but I did enjoy all the light and color from all the glass. It is a very ethereal place. The glass pumpkin display captured my heart, and you can see some of the examples in my pictures. I enjoyed myself but didn't stay long, since the exhibits didn't have much to read. read more

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We stopped by the Sandwich Glass Museum on a whim. While trying to decide what to check out before leaving the Cape, I did a little online research and thought this looked cool. And I love me some blown glass. We got there about a 1/2 hour after the museum opened and about 5 minutes after the first show was set to start. The glass blower was running a bit late, so we had a bit of time to explore. My husband sat alone in the theater, watching the video about the history of Sandwich, which I explored a bit of the museum. This museum, by the way, is WAY bigger than expected!! It's obviously filled 98% with examples of blown glass (my favorite were the more recent ones), but there are some interesting facts about uranium glass and, obviously, the history of the company and why they set up shop in Sandwich. The highlight of a visit here is obviously the glass blowing demonstration. The kid who did ours was a funny 18-year-old whose pants kept falling down. He was a great presenter, but it was hilarious listening to him and watching him hike up his pants in front of a crowd mainly aged 60 and over!! He was very knowledgeable and answered every question - and he's only been blowing glass for 4 months. I really wanted to get a piece, but was upset by 2 things: 1) The Sandwich Glass Company closed about 100 or so years ago. So none of the glass in the shop is actually made by the SGC. Fine. However, they had no information about the pieces - where they WERE made, by whom, etc. I did buy a piece, but I have no idea about where it's from or the type of glass, etc. Sad. 2) The shop didn't have nearly as much as I expected. I thought it would have tons of vases, etc., but it was mainly earrings. I do LOVE my bracelet (and thank you to the nice lady at the "registration" desk who was so helpful and friendly!). Overall, this is a very interesting stop. Is it a necessity? No. But if you have some time to kill in the area and like blown glass (or just want to see a fun demonstration of glass blowing), give it a quick visit. read more

Sandwich Glass Museum - A not-fantastic photo of our glass blowing demonstrator - Museums Near Me - Sandwich, Massachusetts

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We bring visitors from out of town here - always impressive, especially the demonstration.

A wonderful museum that offers a lot to see. We especially enjoyed the glass making demonstration so make sure you time your visit to witness the demonstration. Lots of historical displays of glass in a comfortable setting. read more

We had a lovely visit to the Sandwich Glass Museum. I was so surprised at how many rooms there were! When we entered, it seemed like it would be a pretty tiny museum, but there were so many things to look at. If you're interested in the history of glass making, there is a lot of information about different patterns and methods that were common in different time periods and how they were made. They also have glass blowing demonstrations throughout the day. We were also fortunate enough to visit shortly after the Sidney Hutter exhibit started...that was definitely my favorite! It's on display through October, and I highly recommend checking it out if you're interested in modern glass art. read more

Sandwich Glass Museum - A small portion of the Sidney Hutter exhibit - Museums Near Me - Sandwich, Massachusetts

The place is getting run-down. Cobwebs everywhere, broken or not running installations... Their response to our inquiries: "We told the janitor, he still hasn't gotten-around to fix things yet." read more

This is an adorable glass museum that gave me a much better appreciation of glass blowing as an art. So we came here right when they opened because we decided to be nerds about it and wanted to do something fun and check out an interesting place. We walked in and paid our admission to walk around. After about 20 or 30 minutes poking around the first few exhibits, we were treated to watching one of their glass blower specialists work their magic! He began and with only 4 people (us included) watching him we were given a somewhat of a personalized lesson on glass blowing, the history of glass bowling in the Sandwich region and what he was doing and how he was doing it (making a glass whale tail in water). He was extremely friendly and answered all my questions between working on the finished product (i may have been asking a whole lot of questions). All of this was very educational as I wanted to know more about the art of it all. Afterwards we continued through the rest of the museum, reading up on the different types of glass from cut glass to blown glass and all of the different techniques that were used in glass production over the course of the last century. We spent over 2 hours there and if you really immerse yourself in the art of it all, you can spend a lot of time there. The gift shop was the last stop and there were some really fantastic pieces. Unfortunately we left with nothing since the things that caught my eye were out of my price range. ::Sad Face:: read more

I came here with my Meetup group as it was part of our itinerary with our tour group. Who knew that there would be a museum dedicated to glass making? We lucked out--as soon as we entered the museum, the glass blowing demonstration was just about to get started. Alan, (I think that's his name) our glass blowing instructor had a great sense of humor and definitely easy on the eyes (wink, wink). He gave good information on how to become a glass blower (gaining apprenticeship, becoming a master, and so on and so forth). After that, you can check out a video discussing the history the Sandwich Glass Company. Before you leave, you can visit the gift shop (you know there would be a gift shop)--I picked up a cute glass ring--as to be expected, some of the pieces were super expensive and some were with reason. I got my ring for $11.00--I'd say that's well within reason. It's not a museum that you would spend a whole lot of time in but it's unique. If you're in Sandwich, I would recommend checking out the museum. P.S. The town of Sandwich was named after a seaport in Kent, England called Sandwich--just a little trivia. read more

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Tthe four of us, did not participate in the "scavenger hunt", however we did tour the museum which has over 5,000 works of glass produced between 1825 to 1888 and if you enjoy beautiful colored glass in various forms, you will appreciate this collection. I have been to many glass factories, including Bermuda, Italy, the Caribbean and in the Azores and this was as awesome as any, when it came to the art demonstrations of glass blowing, original works and reproductions. They also sponsor an annual glass show which has over 50 dealers of antique glass from across the United States. A shop, of course, is on your way in or out and they sell reproductions and original glass works, some of which are very well known artists for their collections of paperweights, vases and many other pieces of glass. I would return here, it was very interesting and enjoyable and a great place to buy gifts for yourself or others! read more

Hearing about the rich history in glass works in Sandwich, I figured no better experience than the museum to get a quick, interactive run down of the area and what this craft did for it. Upon entering, the most unique piece in the museum was hanging. A gorgeous chandelier! Filled with interactive displays and an artist that provides a molding demonstration. The collection/history is quite grand to say the least. However, sadly, I didn't feel it was worth the price of admission. I took my time, and didn't feel rushed and roughly got through this in about 45 minutes. If you have unlimited time and resources I would stop in here, but would not list this as a "must see". read more

This is a surprisingly large and super-informative museum on the history of glass-making right in the area where the region's glass-blowing business began. I am not a glass collector or aficionado, but I was impressed by the fascinating and well-told backstory of the local factory and the glass samples themselves. Room after room of odd and interesting glass pieces for both decorative, practical, and eye-opening uses of the past. Catch a glass-blowing demo if you can, it is quite a hot topic. Little ones should be leashed in this place. Too fragile to let Junior's hands swing about freely. But kids might enjoy the collection and seeing the blowing process. Most of it is secured behind glass panels, but some pieces are too accessible. Chill kids will like it. Admission is a bit steep, but it is also one of the most unique museums on the Cape, and well worth it. The collection is staggering, and the descriptions excellent. This museum will have you seeing history through rose-colored glasses, indeed. read more

Absolutely worth the price of admission. If you like glass, don't miss it. The gift shop is also one of the best places to buy hand blown glass that I've ever seen. Prices are surprisingly reasonable. GO!!!!! read more

What a delightful find. the sandwich glass museum presents a full history of glassmaking in Sandwich (Sandwich Glass) plus many examples of the beautiful glass made there. There is also a glass blowing demonstration which was informative and fun to watch. read more

The glass blowing demonstration was phenomenal, as was the entire museum. Well worth taking the time to absorb this incredible display. A detailed history of glass making on Cape Cod ~ dating back to the 1800s. Many pieces illustrate the processes as they became ever more intricate. "The 12 Days of Christmas" is the current exhibit ~ Excellent. Christmas Trees are decorated with theme glass ornaments which are for sale. read more

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Wonderful visit. Great glass blowing demonstration and wonderful exhibits. Several with interactive audio. Gift shop has some amazing pieces by local artists. Super friendly staff. read more

This morning while visiting the area we decided to stop at this museum and we did not regret it. It is 9 dollars for adults and you get to you outstanding glass pieces from Sandwich and each hour there is a glass making class which is simply amazing! Definitely to visit also because the guide is very friendly and he even recommended us some places to eat nearby!. read more

Sandwich Glass Museum - Glass making class exhibit! - Museums Near Me - Sandwich, Massachusetts

The Sandwich Glass Museum is a great place to attend to not only learn more about the history of Sandwich, but also to see the evolution of glassware in the United States. This unique location not only houses a phenomenal museum, but it also has an incredible gift shop with beautiful items. Some of my favorite were their glass blown earrings as well as sculptures. It was also nice to watch them do a glass blowing tutorial. In the end this is a place that you would stop at if you are interested in learning. For some children and adults it is boring, but our 11 year old niece loved it we also did. read more

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My wife had to twist my arm to visit this museum, and I'm glad she did. There was a glass blowing demonstration and a great deal of history about glass over the years and the former Boston and Sandwich Glass factory. read more

Lovely focal point for any Sandwich visit. Visitors get an idyllic insight into not only glass making but also the historical background of Sandwich and surrounding areas. Best parts of the tour: cheap ($9 per person!), hourly glass-making demonstration performed by an experienced and well-spoken artisan, and a well stocked and varying gift shop, full of potential presents to bring home to friends and family! read more

Beautiful glass museum! But what we really loved was the beautiful gift store at the end, with lots of glass objects and unique jewelry! Lots of parking, friendly staff. read more

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