What is a rocket anyway? Are rockets just for NASA to send to the moon or can rockets blast off from a backyard?

Rockets of all kinds took to the skies behind the Wareham Free Library Thursday, Aug. 14 as “mad scientist” Jonathan Breindel taught kids all about rockets and how they work.

“We talk about lift, thrust and we had about a dozen different rockets concluding with actual solid core rockets with deployable parachutes,” Breindel said.

Breidel is the Chief Science Officer of Mad Science of Southern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The company extends internationally teaching kids all about science with hands-on programs.

During the show, Breindel explained a rocket is anything man-made that uses fuel to fly on its own. To demonstrate what constitutes a rocket, Breindel brought out balloons, model rockets and a bottle of diet coke and mentos.

“We use an inquiry based method in the shows so when someone asks a question you never let the question go, we always have follow ups,” he said. “We want the kids to be as engaged as possible to find out how they think and what they think.”

Five-year-old Jimmy from Plymouth described the show as “awesome,” especially the big finale.

“I liked watching the metal rockets fly up into the air,” Jimmy said.

Breindel concluded the show by blasting a silver model rocket out from behind the library that travels anywhere from 300 to 400 feet.

Amanda Cassady of Marion brought her two sons to the show and said they loved it.

“Anything that’s loud and science they love,” she said. “I just wanted to get them out learning some science.”

Supporting kids’ interest in science is the main goal of the show, Breindel said. He has been putting on live science demonstrations for almost 20 years and added he would have loved a similar program when he was young.

“We didn’t have this when I was a kid so a lot of the decisions I make are what I would have wanted as a kid,” he said. “A lot of the things I do in the show are for those kids that were like me.”

He added seeing kids’ and adults’ eyes light up during the show reminds him why he does what he does.

“You see the kid who doesn’t want to engage and then they see it and remind themselves it’s okay to have fun,” he said. “There was a guy here today who didn’t care when I started but by the end he was interested because it was fun and exciting and science is for everyone.”