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January 7, 2009

Teen a finalist with bubble wrap invention

Nathan Huber earns trip to New York, savings bond

By Robb Murray

ST PETER — If Nathan Huber’s got a little extra pop in his step these days, he’s got good reason.

The St. Peter 14-year-old is one of three finalists in a national competition where kids are encouraged to come up with new and innovative ways to use everyone’s favorite packing material: Bubble Wrap.

Huber’s invention takes a clear plastic and wood frame into which a flash card is inserted. A sheet of Bubble Wrap covers the answers, and users get to pop the bubbles to get at the answers.

He came upon the idea, he says, after surfing the Web one day looking for something to do. He double-clicked his way to a contest sponsored by the Sealed Air company, which has made Bubble Wrap since the 1960s.

The company holds the contest annually, hoping to appeal to the young inventors across the nation. Huber didn’t consider himself an inventor, but when he came across the announcement of the Bubble Wrap contest, he decided to give it some thought. A short time later, he thought of the flash card learning game.

It stewed in his brain for a week or so until he finally got to work constructing it. Using Bubble Wrap from Wal-Mart, Nathan spent hours putting together his prototype. And when he was done, he — along with 2,200 other kids from 40 different states with their ideas — sent it in to see what happened.

He heard he’d made the top 15 around Thanksgiving. And by New Year’s, he’d heard he was a finalist.

“I was really excited,” Nathan said. “When I entered, I never thought I could actually win.”

His mother, Marlys Huber, said her son was very committed to coming up with a solid Bubble Wrap invention. She said her son, who is home schooled, worked on his invention every day after his schoolwork was done.

“He basically was working on it every chance he could get,” she said. “We didn’t even know he was doing it at first. He completely took it on on his own, and that’s what’s so great in seeing him get so far with it: It’s what he chose to do.”

So now Nathan goes to New York City where on Jan. 26 — which happens to be National Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day — he’ll learn which of three savings bonds he has won: $10,000, $5,000 or $3,000. He’ll also get to tour the Bubble Wrap manufacturing plant and get a front-row seat to a performance of the Blue Man Group.

Whatever happens in New York, Nathan will never look at Bubble Wrap the same.

Then again, “Every kid loves popping bubble wrap,” he said.

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