Happy Birthday, dear Bubble Wrap
by Beth
You spent yesterday celebrating the 50th anniversary of the invention of Bubble Wrap, right? I sure did! Fifty years! It’s a momentous occasion.
Here at the Easter Seals and Autism Blog, we love Bubble Wrap. Two years ago our Celebrating Bubble Wrap post referred to an Autism Vox post by Kristina Chew. In her post, Chew wrote that her son Charlie, who has autism, “took a liking to bubble wrap a few years ago.”
He had long showed more interest in the ribbons and wrapping paper than in the actual presents themselves, no matter how elaborate a Playmobil set was concealed inside. Popping the plastic bubbles seemed to provide a sensory experience in several ways: Charlie could feel the thin plastic flattening beneath his fingers, and he could hear the effects: Pop, pop!
Comments to that post told us that Charlie is not alone. Lots of kids — and adults — who have autism enjoy Bubble Wrap. Further research back then revealed that Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day was just around the corner. Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day is the day Sealed Air Corporation (creator of Bubble Wrap) announces the grand prize winner of its annual “Bubble Wrap Competition for Young Inventors.” Among the 15 semi-finalists that year was a 13-year-old girl who had designed bubble wrap wallpaper to engage and stimulate children with autism. Hannah Haas described her sensory wallpaper like this:
Wallpaper designed to engage and stimulate children with autism through the combination of a textured bubble surface containing large and small bubbles, and a calming, blue wallpaper background.
You can watch a video about Hannah’s invention via MPG format or in Flash format.
When we found out that Hannah Haas was the grand prize winner, we published a post here encouraging everyone to Pop the cork … and the bubble wrap! Autism wallpaper wins!
And then, Just last month around holiday time, we published a post about engaging children with autism in play. Needless to say, the long list of ways to play included a line about Bubble Wrap.
Let your child pop the bubbles on bubble wrap using his hands, fingers and feet.
Happy Birthday, Bubble Wrap!