What have a window, a light bulb and a firefighter’s clothes got in common? They are all made from glass! This amazing material is all around you. It comes in lots of different shapes and sizes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glass is a very useful material.

Glass has many special features. Light can shine through glass and you can see through it. It is smooth and colourless. Glass does not let water through – it is waterproof. Glass does not rot or turn rusty. It’s easy to make smudges or marks on glass, but it is also easy to clean!

 

 

 

 

Glass can break easily.

You need to be careful when you touch or hold glass because it can break easily. It is a brittle material. Watch out – glass shatters into small sharp pieces that can cut you. Some glass is made so strong that not even fierce winds or heavy hailstones can break it.

 

 

 

 

 

People have been making glass for thousands of years!

The first glass objects are over 4,000 years old. They were made in much the same way that we make glass today! During the 14th century, the centre of glass-making was Venice where workers made fine, delicate glass. The workers were punished if they gave away the secret of their glass-making!