Glassblowing

Glassblowing is the process of making things out of hot, melted glass. Think of it like playing with play-doh, but instead of using your hands, you use really hot fire and special tools.

First, you start with a long metal pipe called a blowpipe. You dip the end of the blowpipe into some melted glass, which is kept hot inside a special oven called a furnace. The glass sticks to the end of the pipe like honey on a spoon.

Next, you blow into the pipe like you're blowing up a balloon. The glass gets bigger and bigger as you blow. You can also shape the glass by using tools like tweezers, paddles and scissors. You can make all sorts of things, like vases, bowls, and even animals!

Once you're done shaping the glass, you put it back into the furnace for a process called "annealing". This is like putting a cake in the oven to cool after it's been baked. The glass is heated up and then slowly cooled down so that it won't break.

That's glassblowing in a nutshell! It takes a lot of skill and practice, but it can be really fun too.