<div dir="ltr"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Dear Friends of the MIT Glass Lab and the MIT Great Glass
Pumpkin Patch,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Last night when I opened my windows to let the cool night
air into the house, I heard the song of the first late-summer crickets. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Normally, by this time of year I would be deep
into planning the MIT Great Glass Pumpkin Patch: hearing from many of our returning volunteer
family, welcoming new volunteers, ordering bubble wrap, desperately trying to
find someone willing to cover the overnight shifts. It seems so strange not to
be doing these things! As much work as it all is, I miss it, and look forward
to the time when we can all come back to Kresge Oval on a bright, crisp New England
fall day to celebrate the joy of being alive in the midst of two thousand glass pumpkins on the grass, every one of them different.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;margin:0in;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black">As many of you know, the MIT Glass Lab depends on the revenue
generated by the sale of glass pumpkins for its continued existence. Since we
will be unable to stage our usual event on Kresge Oval this fall, the Glass Lab
has been brainstorming ways to sell our existing inventory of about 450
pumpkins, and to create a new, fun, online way of experiencing the Pumpkin
Patch. </span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black"> </span><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;margin:0in;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black">Instead of a live, in-person, one-day sale, the 20<sup>th</sup> annual
MIT Great Glass Pumpkin Patch will be an online sale this year. We’ll post
photographs of every single pumpkin we made since last year’s patch, and
customers will have an opportunity to purchase online to get a pumpkin (or
ten!) and help the Glass Lab make it through this difficult time. <i>All pumpkins
will be shipped to online buyers.</i></span><i><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;margin:0in;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black">We invite your input in designing this sale! </span></b><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black">We have created a very short questionnaire that
will help us focus on the pumpkin shopping experience. Please take a minute to
answer a few questions that will help us to put together a sale that will be
successful for us and satisfying for you.</span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;margin:0in;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black">Please do not reply to this email but instead </span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black"><a href="https://forms.gle/mRHqzdCVTxakgeEy7"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">fill out this google form</span></a></span><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black">. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;margin:0in;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black">Th</span><span style="color:black;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">anks for helping us out, and looking forward to seeing you all
in the near future,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;margin:0in;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;margin:0in;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black">Peter Houk</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;margin:0in;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black">Lab Director<i></i></span></p><div><br></div>The Glass Lab is dedicated to the MIT core mission of connecting
hands-on learning experiences with scientific and engineering concepts. Since
its inception the lab has been self-funding. Donations of any amount are
greatly appreciated and may be made <a href="https://giving.mit.edu/search/node/3876110">here.</a><br></div>