MILLVILLE, NJ (October 07, 2024) – Thanking members of the armed forces for their service, Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center is offering free Make-Your-Own experiences to veterans and active duty military during the Veterans Day Glassmaking program on Saturday, November 9, 2024. With the expert guidance of our glass artists, learn how to shape hot molten glass into a beautiful Air Trap Paperweight using a historic antique mold unique to WheatonArts! Participants will choose a color, add molten glass to a mold, and discover the secret of creating these organic shapes.

Participants and their families will receive complimentary passes to WheatonArts during the event. While veterans and active duty military personnel are partaking in their free Make-Your-Own experience, civilians can watch glassblowing demonstrations, visit the Pottery and Flameworking studios, walk around the current exhibitions at the Museum of American Glass and the Down Jersey Folklife Center, and shop the museum stores with the complementary coupon received at the gatehouse.

The Veterans Day Glassblowing program is available to any bearer of a Geneva Convention common access card (CAC), a DD Form 1173 ID card (dependent ID), or a DD Form 1173-1 ID card, which includes active-duty U.S. military – Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, as well as members of the National Guard and Reserve, U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, NOAA Commissioned Corps – and up to five family members for free admission.
Veterans Day Glassmaking Make-Your-Own is limited to one paperweight per participant.

Event highlights on November 9th include:

• Listen to live music and grab a bite to eat from one of the food trucks.
• Stop by the Pottery Studio to see wet clay sculpted into beautiful and functional works of art throughout the day. Ask to take a kiln tour while you’re there!
• Enjoy a family friendly, campus-wide scavenger hunt.
• Take a self-guided tour of the Folklife Center to experience the current exhibit, Ceremonies in Circles, featuring traditional West African masks, garments, woodcarvings, and ceremonial objects used in special rituals and community celebrations.
• Visit the Museum and do a self-guided tour of the exhibition, Centuries of Tomfoolery: Trick Glasses, Pipes, & Whimsical Delights. Discover how contemporary glassmakers use practical archaeology to understand Renaissance drinking games and party tricks.
• Create a fused glass magnet, pendant, or suncatcher in the Education Studio for a discounted fee of $10 per magnet/pendant and $20 per suncatcher.
• Veteran’s Day Glassmaking is sponsored in part by OceanFirst.
• More details can be found online at wheatonarts.org or by calling 856-825-6800.

WheatonArts strives to ensure the accessibility of its exhibitions, events, and programs to all persons with disabilities. Provide two weeks’ notice for additional needs. Patrons with hearing and speech disabilities may contact WheatonArts through the New Jersey Relay Service (TRS) at 800-852-7899 or by dialing 711.

Funding has been made possible in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New Jersey Cultural Trust. WheatonArts also receives general operating support from the New Jersey Historical Commission, Division of Cultural Affairs in the New Jersey Department of State, and is supported in part by the New Jersey Department of State, Division of Travel and Tourism.

About WheatonArts: With a history spanning over five decades, WheatonArts has earned regional, national, and international recognition for its unique collections and programs. The Museum of American Glass (accredited by the American Alliance of Museums) houses one of the country’s most comprehensive collections of American glass – from the first glass bottles made in America to celebrated works by Dale Chihuly, Paul Stankard, and other contemporary glass artists. In the Artist Studios, visitors experience the art of glassmaking, pottery, and flameworking. From April through December, the Museum of American Glass and Down Jersey Folklife Center presents special exhibitions. WheatonArts also offers traditional and multicultural programs, classes, workshops, performances, and weekend festivals. The award-winning Museum Stores offer traditional and contemporary art and craft in all mediums.

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