Rootstown Middle School student Emily Pattie, left, and Missouri resident Lexia Forester, of Sullivan Middle School, won top honors in the third annual Rubber Band Contest for Young Inventors.
Emily Pattie of Ravenna and Lexia Forester of Sullivan, Mo., were named first-place winners of the third annual Rubber Band Contest for Young Inventors, hosted by The University of Akron's Akron Global Polymer Academy (AGPA).
Emily, a Rootstown Middle School student, placed first in the competition's Arts and Leisure Division with her Rubber Sunset three-dimensional nightlight. Lexia, a Sullivan Middle School student, placed first in the Science and Engineering Division with her Exa-Stretch lower-arm exercise aid.
Event runner-ups were Eben Carek of Orange Village, Ohio, who earned the second-place Arts and Leisure spot with his Portable Finger Exerciser, and Maggie Kubicek of Mentor-on-the-Lake, who placed second in the Science and Engineering Division with her MySpace Tray.
Contest draws national interest
Emily Pattie's Rubber Sunset is a nightlight/3D picture designed to soothe children and help them fall asleep.
In all, more than 500 students from 16 states entered inventions judged by a panel of engineers, scientists andfine and performing art experts. Entrees were rated for their innovation, usefulness, research, design and an essay describing the invention.
"The awards ceremony honored these students and celebrated their creativity," says Dr. Carin Helfer, assistant director, AGPA science education outreach. "It was wonderful to meet these young people who had developed these innovative products."
Contest winners were announced at a May 14 awards luncheon at The University of Akron.
The Rubber Band Contest for Young Inventors encourages students in grades 5-8 to demonstrate their ingenuity and creativity with inventions that incorporate the use of rubber bands. Winners of each division received $1,000 savings bonds and the two runner-up contestants each received $500 savings bonds.
For more details about the contest, visit the Akron Global Polymer Academy.
Media contact: Denise Henry, 330-972-6477 or henryd@.uakron.edu.