Hey, kids in grades 5-8, use rubber bands to invent something new and you may win a trip to Akron, OH!! Not a big enough carrot, you say? Totally understandable. How about some prize money to go with that trip!? That’s right, $15,000 in prizes will be given out to winners of the 2010 Rubber Band Contest for Young Inventors, presented by the Rubber Division of the American Chemical Society, The Akron Global Polymer Academy, and The University of Akron. Deadline for entries is February 10, 2010. Looks simple enough to enroll so give it a shot! Here are descriptions of last year’s winners .