The tower sits on a glass base, a pergola ceiling, and rises through the center of the museum's spiraling ramp system.

Each piece of glass was individually blown by a team of glassblowers based out of Chihuly's studio in Tacoma, Washington.

Visitors can sit on circular, rotating benches in order to look up at the pergola ceiling and observe the colours, shapes, and the light interacting with the glass.

It took Chihuly and his team five years to plan and create Fireworks of Glass, which was inspired by the idea of an upside down chandelier.

Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson said of the installation, "This one of a kind work of art will serve as an icon for cultural tourism for our city.

Under the direction of Chihuly, a team of glassblowers created the 4,800 glass pieces in Tacoma, Washington before shipping them to Indianapolis in 350 cardboard boxes.

A plastic tube was inserted into each piece of glass to protect it when placed on the armature and to hold it securely to the metal rods.