Dale Chihuly and Bill Nye teamed up for an episode “Bill Nye the Science Guy” to explain the phases of matter using glass as an example. Chihuly and Nye then also collaborated on this painting, which Chihuly gave to Nye as a gift. Bill Nye (b. 1955) grew up in Washington D.C. and studied mechanical engineering at Cornell University. He moved to Seattle to work for Boeing but also became interested in the local comedy scene. Nye became a writer and performer on the King 5 TV comedy show Almost Live! and it was there he started doing comedic science demonstrations as “Bill Nye the Science Guy.” Nye partnered with producers James McKenna and Erren Gottlieb to pitch “Bill Nye the Science Guy” to various TV stations. It was picked up by Seattle’s PBS member station KCTS, and was available for syndication with funding from National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy. It aired from 1993-1999 and became the first TV show to be shown concurrently on public and commercial stations.