Ben Barber Students Work with
NASA to Make Packages for Space
The students made the lids out of steel in the school’s manufacturing workshop.
Mansfield ISD Ben Barber
Innovation Academy students
are working with the NASA
HUNCH program to create secure
packaging that will allow NASA to
send objects to outer space.
The NASA program -- HUNCH,
which stands for High schools
United with NASA to Create
Hardware — is a STEM outreach
effort designed to bring students
new educational experiences with
NASA projects.
“I saw an advertisement
through Facebook, and I just
reached out to them to see if it was
something we could get involved
with,” said Tim Sherwood, the
manufacturing teacher at Ben
Barber. “They had us come down
and take a look at their facility and
here we are making parts for them
now.”
10 | Mansfield TODAY
The HUNCH partnership
requires the students at Ben
Barber to make lids for 40 storage
boxes each year. Once completed,
the boxes will be sent to space
stations containing food, supplies
and experiments.
“My favorite part of the project
is probably just the challenge of
doing it,” said Ryan Weisblatt, a
Mansfield High School senior.
“A lot of people don’t get this
opportunity, so this part alone
has really made me think and
challenge myself.”
In preparation for making the
lids, the students learned how to
operate drawing files and manually
code and program software for
machines.
“The students are really
enjoying this type of work and
to be able to see the parts and
put them to real use, it really
shows them what they can look
forward to after high school,” said
Sherwood. “A lot went into it, and
the kids were able to overcome it
all.”
After making the boxes, the
students are allowed to sign their
name onto the fixture.
“My name is going to be in
space one day, and that’s an
amazing accomplishment that I
can tell my friends,” said Weisblatt.
“It’s an awesome experience all
around.”