South Dakota School of Mines starts glassblowing classes

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - Colored glass and a 3,000-degree forge are new additions to one South Dakota university.

When talking about creative topics glassblowing probably isn’t the first that comes to mind. For the teachers and students at the South Dakota Mines, it’s a perfect blend of science and creativity.

“I think Albert Einstein really said it best, ‘creativity is intelligence having fun’ and that’s really what we’re trying to promote with this is using creativity to start exploring different areas within the art stem fields’,” said Dr. Catrina Donovan, an instructor for the class.

Donovan says this program fits in perfectly with other classes taught in the building like metallurgy and blacksmithing, so it was easy to convince students and staff to get on board.

A student in the new class explained how much it means that Mines is pursuing creative topics in addition to the science-related material the university is known for.

“Just that I love this program and I’m really thankful for all the opportunities the professors give us. I wouldn’t be able to do any of this without their support and their ability to get funding for stuff like this,” said Amy Saylor, a senior at Mines.

Donovan says the program was made possible by a National Science Foundation grant and is hopeful more projects like this can be done in the future.

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