Brooklyn Children's Museum Toy Inventors Workshop Blasts Off

A day after Christmas, several local children had the chance to get even more presents, this time by making their own.

Twelve children came to the Brooklyn Children's Museum this past Sunday for the first ever Toy Inventor's Workshop. Led by Sandy Saha, Science Education Manager for the Brooklyn Children's Museum, the kids made their own toy rockets while also learning a little science in the process.

"We're using film canisters as the rockets and Alka Seltzer and water as the gases that will lift the rocket up," said Saha. "It helps show kids how a rocket engine works and also teaches them about propulsion and Newton's Laws."

Before the experiment began, most of the kids had little knowledge about how rockets took off or the science behind it.

"I know that rockets blast off into space," said six-year-old Gabrielle Orcel of Crown Heights. "We have a toy-making class at my school, so I'm excited to make mine."

Saha kicked off the workshop by explaining each of Newton's laws individually and inviting students to come up and demonstrate them. After the science heavy portion of the lesson, the kids got to hunker down with colored pencils and color the film canister that would be their rocket ship.

Next, everyone put the Alka Seltzer and water into their canister, producing a gas. When there was too much gas in the canister, the lid popped off under the pressure.

"Even though there's a range of ages in the workshop, the concepts that we're covering are something that everyone can understand," said Saha.

Saha said she hoped to have more Toy Inventor Workshops in the future. 

A new addition to Brooklyn Children's Museum (after working in museum education around the country for the last 15 years), Saha said the institution was a strong upgrade from previous places where she worked.

"I find that there's a lot more activities and programs to do with kids here that are more hands-on than other places I've ever been," said Saha. "We recently had a workshop where they got to touch a mummified artifact, which is really cool because a lot of other places wouldn't let you do that."