More than 200 students from Brooklyn took to the waters of the East River on Tuesday in boats that they built themselves.

The opportunity was given to these students thanks to Brooklyn Boatworks, a nonprofit that brings interactive STEM events to public school students to make learning fun.

"Our middle school students took a set of plans, ply wood, and built these boats," said the project's organizer. "It's really cool to see all your hard work put into something so cool and actually being able to use it."

The young engineers learned building skills and teamwork. One teacher says that while the fun of building a boat was educational, some of the life skills that kids learned in this program are even more important.