Eric Baker loves the sound of Bubble Wrap popping violently under his feet. Sometimes, he hides a small section of the little plastic-encased air bubbles behind his back and pops it by hand, pretending that he's cracking his knuckles.
Now, he's coveting the stuff because he has invented a new use for Bubble Wrap - one that could win him $10,000. He's created an "Orange DeBruiser." It's a Bubble Wrap cushioned trap that can be placed under a citrus tree.
And that invention has made Eric, a 12-year-old from Longwood, one of the 15 national semi-finalists in the fourth annual Bubble Wrap Competition for Young Inventors.
Eric likes to create things out of Lego blocks and recently spent a week working on a model of a space station for a class science project. He also tries come up with inventions – from string to motion sensors – that will detect when his two little brothers have been snooping in his bedroom.
But he turned his attention to Bubble Wrap after his science teacher asked every kid to come up with a Bubble Wrap invention. While doing his chores, Eric began pondering how Bubble Wrap could help him.
You see, each weekend, Eric has to climb a ladder and pick oranges off the trees. But invariably, during the week, some oranges fall off the trees, hit the ground and split open or get bruised.
And that is the story behind Eric's Orange DeBruiser. When an orange falls, it lands on the layers of bubble wrap, then rolls down an inclined surfaced into a receptacle.
No more muss, fuss, no possums eating the fallen fruit.
With a little help from his dad, Eric made drawings of his invention – and created a small model of it, complete with a citrus tree.
Eric hasn't tried the invention out yet, however. There are a couple of reasons. First, Bubble Wrap is expensive and if he built a life-sized model for his own citrus trees, it was gong to cost quite a bit.
And, because he created it for a school science project, Eric couldn't bring a life-sized Orange DeBruiser in to school.
"A model," said Eric's dad, Roger, "was easier to get to school."
There were plenty of other good entries. One of his classmates made a "bubble-wrap wallet," inspired by his dad, who'd dropped his wallet overboard while fishing. Others made games out of bubble wrap.
But Eric burst onto the national scene in mid-April when he was named a national semifinalist. For his efforts, he has already won a $500 savings bond.
Making it to the final round – where three competitors will compete to win a $10,000 savings bond – won't be easy.
His competition includes a 10-year-old from New York who created a portable cushion designed to attach to seatbelts for comfort during long car rides. A 13-year-old from Virginia used Bubble Wrap to make a curtain designed to help any ordinary refrigerator become more energy efficient. And a 13-year-old from California used Bubble Wrap to make sanitary covers for stretchers and gurneys.
The three finalists will be announced on May 4. And the grand prize will be announced May 22.
For now, Eric can't do much but wait – and contemplate how he'd spend the money if he won.
"There's college," he said. "Or maybe I could use it to buy a car.
Resource: http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2010-05-01/news/os-bubble-wrap-kid-20100430_1_bubble-wrap-bubble-wrap-competition-young-inventors
