Along with being a godsend for anyone who’s ever tried to pack a set of antique china or ship a bottle of whiskey, Bubble Wrap® also may be one of the most common components of homemade inventions. For the everyday MacGyver, the cushioned packaging can be used to do everything from protect car doors to make wheelchairs more comfortable. Proudly embracing the product’s popularity with inventors, Sealed Air (the company that produces Bubble Wrap) recently announced the winners of its second annual Competition for Young Inventors.
Sponsored by Sealed Air and administered by the National Museum of Education, the competition invited students in grades five through eight from across the United States to submit inventions that incorporated the use of Bubble Wrap. In only its second year, the contest brought in over 1,400 entries from 39 different states (up from about 800 entries its first year). Submissions were judged based originality, creativity, practicality, benefit to society, marketability, feasibility and overall presentation. The entries were first widdled down to 15 semi-finalists, and, after a second round of judging, the field was cut to three finalists: Max Wallack of Mass., Hannah Haas of N.C. and Nicolette Mann of Va. The finalists were flown along with family members to New York City, where they were treated to a tour of the Bubble Wrap manufacturing plant, tickets to the musical STOMP and a special awards dinner at the Rainbow Room in Rockefeller Center.
At the awards dinner, Mr. Wallack, 11, took home third place and a $3,000 savings bond for his invention: an adjustable wrist cushion designed to help prevent and alleviate carpel tunnel for computer users. Ms. Mann, 13, landed in the second spot (with a $5,000 savings bond) for her invention: a single kit that enables people to create and put together different kites. That, of course, left Ms. Haas, 13, as the grand prize winner, receiving a $10,000 bond from Air Seal. Haas, a home-schooled eighth grader, used Bubble Wrap to create a wallpaper designed to stimulate and engage children afflicted with autism. The unique wallpaper set the textured surface of bubble wrap, incorporating both large and small bubbles, against a calming blue background.
Whether intentional or unintentional, Haas’s winning invention harkens back to Bubble Wrap’s original conception. Created by two engineers in a New Jersey garage in 1957, the material was initially developed for use as a plastic wallpaper with a paper backing. But, after the wallpaper idea turned out to be a flop, the inventors realized their invention could be much more useful for packaging purposes (at the time, paper was the only packaging wrap around). Nowadays, Sealed Air is a leading manufacturer of packaging supplies with revenues upwards of $4 billion. With the company thriving and the Bubble Wrap Competition for Young Inventors doubling participation from year one, it’s a safe to assume the contest isn’t a wrap quite yet. Last year’s competition kicked off in early September, so interested young inventors or teachers looking for a classroom project can probably expect the third annual competition to start around the same time.
More information on the Bubble Wrap Competition for Young Inventors and this year’s winners can be found at http://www.bubblewrapcompetition.com.
