(Courtesy of RKYHS) Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School (RKYHS) in Livingston is offering students a unique and innovative learning experience with the introduction of its new “GLASS” (Glass Arts and Sciences Specialty) course: “Playing with Fire—The Material Science of Glass.” This pioneering curriculum in the science department combines cutting-edge scientific principles with practical, hands-on glassworking experience, giving students an in-depth understanding of one of the most fundamental materials used in modern technology and everyday life: glass. The class complements concurrent GLASS courses taking place in the school’s art curriculum utilizing the glass medium.
In keeping with the RKYHS model of “learning science by doing science,” the new course is, in part, modeled on a glass material science curriculum developed at Princeton University and covers a broad range of topics such as compositional tuning, low-temperature glass synthesis, the mechanical, chemical, electrical and optical properties of glass, glass working techniques and modern applications.
In parallel, students focus on hands-on glass work, including technique and glass art. In coordination with the RKYHS Art Department, the GLASS program includes stained glass (soldering), lampwork (flameworking), glass etching (chemical etching), glass fusing (heat fusion), and glass blowing (molten glass). The school’s professional equipment includes all of the materials and machinery for each of these methods, including a “hot shop” with a glass furnace and blowpipes for glass blowing, a programmable annealer, a dedicated glass kiln for glass fusion, lampworking torches, grinders, soldering and glass cutting tools.
“The creation of the GLASS program and this course in particular aligns with our goal to provide students with not only a rigorous science education but also a broad, interdisciplinary understanding of the world around them,” said Dr. Steven Stein, RKYHS science department chair and director of the Scientific Research Training Institute (SRTI). “By studying a material like glass, students are exposed to important principles of chemistry, physics, engineering and art. Glass has played an important historical and cultural role and continues to be an important technological material, including in the world of fiber optics and data transmission. This approach helps foster creativity, problem-solving and critical thinking—essential skills that are emphasized in the RKYHS science department.”
The introduction of “Playing with Fire—The Material Science of Glass” marks an exciting expansion of the RKYHS curriculum, which already includes a university level suite of research laboratories and STEM courses designed to engage and challenge students.
Students in the Betzalel Art Scholars program at RKYHS have also been busy in their studio art classes working with the glass medium. As part of the studio art curriculum and GLASS program, students create glass fusing and glass slumping pieces. They plan out their designs, adding colored glass to clear glass as the pieces get fused together as they’re fired in the school’s glass kiln. The RKYHS art program utilizes a separate kiln for their ceramics studio in addition to the kiln that is used for glass pieces.
The launch of this new curriculum in the science and art departments expands the RKYHS STEM and art offerings. With a focus on interdisciplinary learning, high-level research laboratories, and cutting-edge subjects like “Playing with Fire—The Material Science of Glass,” RKYHS continues to lead the way in science learning, innovation and research.
