
National Museum of American History
1300 Constitution Ave., NW
Washington, DC
The unique properties of glass—impermeability, durability, transparency, and malleability—made it an essential material in the laboratory. An examination of our collection of scientific glassware, from the 1770s to the 1970s, reveals the underlying story of the growth of laboratory science in America, from an individual and isolated pursuit to a familiar and fundamental activity in educational, medical, and research institutions throughout the country.