This toy rocket is called Holdraketa. This is Hungarian and means “moon rocket”. It looks very similar to a toy rocket from America.

Around 1960, there was a competition between the countries USA and Russia: which country would go to space first? The toy rocket from Hungary is from this time. Hungary was friends with Russia.

Holdraketa is made of sheet metal. Its color changed many times: first it was white, then silver. From around 1980 onwards, it was golden.

You can push the rocket along. When the tip hits an obstacle, the front wheel moves away from the rocket. This way the rocket slowly straightens up. When it is upright, a small door opens and a staircase drops down. At the top of the stairs, you can see a picture of a Russian cosmonaut in a space suit. Cosmonaut is what Russia called astronauts.