NASA HUNCH (High School Students United with NASA to Create Hardware) is an innovative program that engages high school students in all regions of the United States in the design and fabrication of real-world projects for use in space missions. The NASA HUNCH program allows students to develop 21st Century workforce skills along with motivating students to pursue STEM courses and careers.
HUNCH students take ownership in their projects, which vary greatly. Below is a list of projects:
>Working on designing and prototyping an item to be used in space
>Manufacturing and documenting hardware
>Sewn products that fly to space
>Applying their culinary skills to make an entree that the astronauts may someday eat in space.
>Videos that inform the public about NASA's missions
>Software to help space exploration and cyber security
>Health and Biomedical investigations to keep astronauts healthy
In one Wyoming Physics classroom you can find students working on commercial sewing machines which are placed in the middle of the classroom, surrounded by students working on 3D printers along all 4 walls of the classroom. These students' help astronauts live and work in space.
NASA HUNCH students are not just learning; they are actively participating in the future of space exploration. Their projects embody the spirit of teamwork, collaboration, creativity, resiliency, and problem-solving that NASA champions. When they finally present their work, the pride in their eyes shines as brightly as the stars they aim to reach.
NASA HUNCH students are not just observers of space exploration but vital contributors, bridging the gap between education and the extraordinary challenges of living and working in space. Through their hard work and dedication, they embody the future of space exploration, engineers and scientists.
