To mark the anniversary, the museum has prepared new exhibition projects, musical performances, guided tours, art workshops, entertainment and specialised programmes. "We will celebrate all year round," said the museum's director Milada Valečková. For example, the plan is to unveil another work of art in the museum park in April, a figurative sculpture by renowned glass artist Gisela Šabóková. In May, the "mural", an original artistic representation of the so-called Pelant Staircase, a concrete museum extension from the 1960s, should be presented to the public as part of the Museum Night. "The public competition announced in November 2023 attracted nine participants, and an expert committee will decide on the implementation by the end of January," said Petr Nový, the museum's chief curator. A children's day at the museum is planned for June, when new, original children's play elements will be made available in the museum park, and a mascot and a printed children's guide to the museum will be christened. The artist Petr Urban, who has also created a previously prepared guide to the Kristiánov expositions, has promised to create it. "All this is part of our long-term strategy to increase the use of the park and the entire museum by families with children. The event will be accompanied by an all-day entertainment programme," adds museum educator Dana Křivánková. The second half of the year will see the preparation of two public events with a cultural programme, namely the traditional event "Fragile Beauty" and the Jablonec Pearls, which were born last year. In October, the unveiling of the memorial plaque of the museum's founder K. R. Fischer will take place as part of the European Heritage Day, and the celebrations will end with the traditional Christmas creation, this year enriched with surprises. But before the start of the birthday celebrations, the museum received several beautiful gifts. In December, it celebrated the successful inscription of handmade glassmaking on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and by the end of the year it had reached the dream mark of 50,000 visitors per year. It was shortlisted for the European Museum of the Year 2024 (EMYA) award and will compete with other shortlisted institutions for the win in May. "For us, the very fact of being among the nominees is a great success. So far, only a few Czech museums have succeeded. Moreover, the joint meeting with others and the presentation will give us opportunities to expand our contacts to establish international cooperation", added Valečková. Thanks to its good reputation and foreign contacts, the museum already has major international exhibition projects in the pipeline. In 2024 it will organise exhibitions with partners in Spain, Poland and Slovakia, and in cooperation with Czech Centres, two exhibitions will also circle the world - Christmas Treasure, dedicated to contemporary Christmas decorations, and Czech IN, i.e. innovations that Czech glassmaking has given to the world. "We were also successful with both submitted projects in the grant procedure within the National Recovery Plan, Mobility sub-programme. Thus, we will open new opportunities for Czech glass artists and designers to establish contacts with their partners from other European countries," said Petr Nový. The museum will enable foreign visitors to get acquainted with the whole structure of glassmaking in the Czech Republic, which is quite exceptional on a global scale. However, the director of the museum would still like one more gift for her birthday. "For more than half a century, we have had a national presence in the field of jewellery and glass, and since 2003 we have been a state institution. We would therefore very much like our status to be expressed in the name of the museum". The complete and always up-to-date programme of the 120th anniversary celebrations of the Museum of Glass and Jewellery in Jablonec nad Nisou can always be found easily on the website www.msb-jablonec.cz/120-let. The Museum of Glass and Jewellery in Jablonec nad Nisou - the only one in the world!

The Museum of Glass and Costume Jewellery in Jablonec nad Nisou, established by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, manages the largest collection of costume jewellery in the world and one of Europe's largest public collections of glass. The museum first opened to the public in 1904. In 2024 it will celebrate 120 years since its foundation.