The Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass in Neenah, Wisconsin, has officially completed a $785,000 renovation--the first in 35 years. After months of work, the museum reopened to the public on June 27, 2026, with upgraded technology and accessibility aimed at elevating its visitors' experience while also preserving the historical importance, vintage character, and charm that have defined the museum since it opened in 1959.
As the only glass-focused museum in Wisconsin, the Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass has unique place in the state’s cultural landscape. It also offers free admission and extraordinary glass experiences that celebrate the beauty and creativity of glass.
“[We] are committed to preserving our collections while continuing to grow as a community-centered space for learning and inspiration,” the museum's executive director, Amy G. Moorefield, told Glass Quarterly in an email exchange.
The museum's fundraising campaign, titled "Our Time to Shine", brought in $785,000 dollars thanks to its mission to remove “barriers to inclusion, learning, and belonging" that prevented the building to welcome and be accessible to everyone. Moorefield says the response from the public "was overwhelming", which she credits for the project staying on schedule, coming in under budget and above goal target. Throughout the whole renovation process, visitors were also invited to freely attend the proceedings, culminating in the celebration of the museum's new welcome center.
Removing walls, physical and sensory barriers, and raising of ceilings in specific areas, allowed the interior to allow more flexible and comfortable circulation between the spaces, while also significantly expanding the museum's capacity to host larger school groups and exhibitions. At the same time, the integration of technological and modern tools, such as new LED lighting, interactive displays, tactile elements, and digital storytelling were key to convey the excitement and complexity of glassmaking to a wider range of visitors of different targets, including children, elderly and disabled people with special needs.
Beyond the access to space and material improvement, the interactive gallery, will let glass enthusiasts experience a greater engagement with the extended and diversified collections of artworks on display. More than 60 new works were donated to the museum as gifts intended for the newly renovated spaces. These include paperweights added to the Bergstrohm Mahler museum permanent collection, which claims to be the largest glass paperweight collection in the world.
In addition, the museum exhibits drinking vessels dating back to the 1500s, Victorian decorative glass baskets, alongside a sophisticated selection of contemporary glass sculptures. All together, these works offer visitors a journey through centuries of glassmaking, which perfectly reflect the interplay between past and present framed by the surrounding environment
For more information on the renovation or the museum, visit the Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass website.