Kid inventors get creative with Bubble Wrap - Innovation- msnbc.com

Kid inventors get creative with Bubble Wrap - Innovation- msnbc.com: "TRENTON, N.J. - It's the stuff that many people find addictively fun to pop after opening a fragile package.

Max Wallack, 11, works his computer in Natick, Mass., while he wears wrist cushions for carpal tunnel syndrome sufferers that he made from Bubble Wrap. Wallack said he spent months creating Bubble Wrap-filled socks with elastic and fabric fastener to tie around the wrists of people with carpal tunnel syndrome. He asked his grandmother to try out his prototypes.

Helge: Nice to see young inventors working with CTS supporting devices.

"I wanted to help her because she had all these cumbersome splints, things that didn't help at all," Wallack said. "Before she had surgery, she was wearing it and it usually helped."

Helge: Helping grandmother.

But for a group of young inventors, Bubble Wrap is more than something to stomp on, it's a source of inspiration. To 11-year-old Kayla Weston, it's a building material for shock-absorbing flooring for dancers; 11-year-old Max Wallack used it to create wrist cushions for carpal tunnel syndrome sufferers.

Helge: Young inventor!

'What's better than resting on air?' asked Wallack, of Natick, Mass.

Wallack is among 15 semifinalists competing in the second year of the Bubble Wrap Competition for Young Inventors, sponsored by Sealed Air Corp., the Elmwood Park, N.J.-based creator of the packaging material. More than 1,400 entries were received from students in 39 states.

The contest, administered by the Akron, Ohio-based National Museum of Education, was promoted in schools across the country, and was limited to students in grades five through eight. Contest entries had to be original inventions that incorporated the use of clear Bubble Wrap brand cushioning. Company officials say it's possible some of the student inventions could be used to create new products."

Helge: Congratulations Max Wallac, 11 years, for a great work! Innovators of all ages are needed to help and cure people with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.