On Thursday, January 9, 2025, as part of the InterBridge project, we organized another international excursion, this time to the Preciosa Ornela glass factory in Desná. The goal was to introduce Czech glassmaking traditions to students from Primary school Sokolovská in Liberec and their peers from Christian-Weise-Gymnasium in Zittau. The bus was filled with a group of approximately 50 seventh-graders, accompanied by their teachers: Principal Pavlína Roudná and Mr. Pavel Červinka from Czech school, as well as their German colleagues Markéta Barth and Jacqueline Zenker. Once again, I joined the trip as an organizer and reporter for the event.
The German students came from a special class focused on learning Czech, while the Czech students learn German. To encourage language collaboration, we paired the children into Czech-German pairs during the bus ride, and each pair was tasked with holding a simple conversation in both languages. This activity broke the initial shyness and gave the students an opportunity to practice a foreign language.
A unique moment awaited us upon our arrival in Desná, as we were greeted by a blanket of snow covering the town in the heart of the Jizera Mountains. The children immediately took advantage of this and engaged in an impromptu snowball fight. Snowballs flew back and forth like at Waterloo with such intensity that even adults got hit a few times – including me! Despite this unplanned interruption of our diplomatic efforts for a friendly connection of Czech and Saxon children, we all ended up laughing together. It was a chance for the children to release some energy and have a bit of fun.
After the snow battle, we were welcomed by guides from Ornela. We divided into two language groups, with the German group accompanied by a Czech guide and an interpreter from Ornela.
The hour-long tour was captivating from start to finish. We observed the entire production process of "rocaille" beads, which are created by cutting glass tubes. Rocaille is a traditional Czech glass product with a long history, highly valued worldwide, particularly in jewelry and textile embellishments.
The tour began in the facility where we saw the creation of the "glass batch," a mixture of raw materials intended for melting. We then watched the fascinating process of pulling glass fibers through the production hall, where they gradually cooled and solidified. These fibers were then cut into shorter tubes resembling colorful spaghetti. We learned that Ornela produces beads in dozens of color shades, many of which we saw in production and storage – from white and orange to red, turquoise, green, and black.
The next stages involved rounding and smoothing the sharp edges of the beads, both mechanically in large drums and chemically using acids. It was fascinating to see how science and art merge in production – from the chemistry and physics of glass and its colors to the precise design of the beads.
At the end of the tour, we received two bags of beads for each class, so the children could create their own artistic works at school. For Mr. Červinka, who teaches both German and art education, this excursion perfectly combined his expertise with the goals of our project. If you follow our project activities regularly, you may recall that Mr. Červinka and his students participated in last year’s “Bionics” event. Their artistic works were not only exhibited but also awarded. We are already looking forward to their new bead creations, which will be part of our upcoming Czech-German exhibition. Of course, we’re also curious about what the German children will create. Since children’s imagination knows no bounds, we are sure it will be something beautiful and inspiring.
We ended the excursion with a visit to the company store, where the children and teachers could purchase small gifts and souvenirs. On the way back, we had to deal with the loss of a mobile phone belonging to one of the German students, but the bus driver kindly delivered it to us, so everything worked out well in the end.
We would like to thank Preciosa Ornela for the excellent organization and for giving us insight into another dimension of Czech glassmaking. The children not only brought home beautiful beads but also a wealth of inspiration and new experiences to enrich our shared international journey of exploring science and art. I am especially pleased that our project has contributed to the direct establishment of cooperation between both schools. On the bus ride back, the teachers were already enthusiastically planning future joint activities and trips for their Czech and German students. Moments like these confirm that we are building bridges of friendship between the Czech Republic and Germany, fulfilling the main mission of our project.
Hana Křížová
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