Schools

Plymouth-Canton Student Places First in U.S. Rubber Band Contest

Robert Keller, a fifth-grader at Miller Elementary, invents sheet music page-turner for pianists.

Robert Keller, a fifth-grader at and Canton native, placed first in the National Rubber Band Contest for Young Inventors' science and engineering division with his Piano Page Turner. The contest, presented by the Akron Global Polymer Academy (AGPA) of The University of Akron, drew nearly 400 middle school student entrants from 17 states.

Keller's creation allows musicians to turn music pages by stepping on a binder clip attached to a wooden block that causes a chain reaction controlled by a rubber band.

Dr. Carin Helfer, assistant director of AGPA Science Education Outreach at UA, says students with science and engineering entries “were challenged to use the elastic properties of the rubber band in the function of their inventions, and the winner did just that.”

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Students competed in arts and leisure and science and engineering divisions. Halie Nitzche, a seventh-grade student from Richfield, OH, placed first in the arts and leisure division with her entry, The Rubber Band Tree, a home accent piece — made mostly of rubber bands — that doubles as an air freshener.

Each division winner will receive a $5,000 savings bonds. Runners-up, Grace Murphy of Colorado Springs, CO, and Mackenzie Steele of Kaysville, UT, each will receive a $1,000 savings bond for their inventions. 

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The Rubber Band Contest is hosted by the AGPA at UA and is sponsored by the University and the Rubber Division of the American Chemical Society, all of which are based in Akron, OH.


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