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Date night. You've already made a good impression by knowing the buzz surrounding the Dale Chihuly glass exhibit that opens today at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Oakland.

But now you need just the right mix of knowledge and charm to keep your honey hooked.

A little background on Chihuly: he's a Seattle-based pioneer in his field, one of the best-known glass artists in the world. He's worn an eye patch since a 1976 car accident, and now directs a team of glass blowers who produce his work. His art hangs in museums and casinos internationally. And his glass creations are hardier than you'd think. When one of his chandeliers slammed into a wall during an earthquake, the wall was the one that needed repairs -- that's according to a story Chihuly told yesterday during a pre-show visit to Phipps.

So you have something to keep conversation going in the car on the way there -- now here's eight great ways to impress a date as you stroll the winding paths (hopefully hand in hand).

1) When your date is struck dumb walking into the Serpentine Room, casually mention the intricate construction process. Each of the dozens of glass tendrils is blown individually and planted firmly in long stakes on the ground, although some of the amber "Cattails" are deliberately made to look like they might fall over. The names for Chihuly's pieces emerge from the words he and his glass blowers use to talk about their creations when they are completed.

2) In the Victoria Room, the pond is dyed black, the better to showcase more than a hundred of Chihuly's "Persians," red and orange "spinners" looped together by black tubes of glass. Pop quiz: How many spinners are there? Exactly 93 in the chandelier and 20 in the water.

3) The Sunken Garden Room holds a "Macchia Forest." Here's your chance to show off your foreign language skills: macchia is Italian for "spotted." The technical challenge of using so many colors in each piece is worth it, says Chihuly, who has traveled as far as Finland to get colors available only in those countries.

4) Phipps completely gutted the East Room at Chihuly's request, bringing in special silver plants to set off this collection of cobalt "Fiori." It's site-specific, and will never happen again. It might be a good time to pause and gaze meaningfully into your date's eyes as you say this, but we'll leave that to your discretion.

5) When Chihuly was working in a glass factory in Finland, he would toss glass pieces into a nearby river, watching their interaction with nature as they floated downstream. When he sent Finnish teenagers to collect them, the beauty of their returning glass-laden rowboats inspired Chihuly to make some of his own. The resulting "Float Boat" can be seen in the South Conservatory.

6) The 150 red "Reeds" in the Fern Room range from 10 to 15 feet tall. This room was Chihuly's favorite when he first visited Phipps; he asked if they could make everything look "wild and prehistoric."

7) The Orchid Room's Seussian "Ikebanas" were inspired by traditional flower arrangements Chihuly saw on a trip to Japan in 1991. Their bright colors and playful shapes are part of a series.

8) Cobalt and orange neon "Tumbleweeds" can be seen for miles from atop their columns in the Tropical Forest Conservatory. They are among Chihuly's experiments in combining neon lighting with glass. Chihuly's original neon sculptures involved encasing neon in blocks of ice.

And if the two of you are having a good time and want to prolong your visit, the exhibit isn't the same in the evening: only the low lights along the paths are turned on, and Chihuly's glass creations are brightly lit.

"It's a totally different experience," Chihuly's representative Jennifer Lewis said. "The colors are incredible. The glass glistens. It's very mysterious."

Sounds romantic.

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