An energized crowd of students, teachers, parents, and school district administrators gathered October 19 at WarrenTech to hear about an exciting partnership between NASA and two Jefferson County schools.WarrenTech and Lakewood High School are the first schools in the state of Colorado to team with NASA in the HUNCH program.HUNCH, " High School Students United with NASA to Create Hardware," was created in 2004 by NASA engineer Stacy Hale. Students who participate in HUNCH gain practical skills and knowledge in math and science by designing and constructing training equipment for use at the Johnson Space Center in Houston and the International Space Station.Only thirteen high schools participate in the program nation-wide so it is an exceptional honor to be invited.
WarrenTech students will build storage lockers for use at the Johnson Space Center.The storage lockers are about the size of a microwave oven and are commonly used by astronauts to transfer materials from Earth to the ISS.Many of WarrenTech's programs will contribute to the construction of the storage lockers.Drafting students will create 3D images of the storage lockers, while Construction Technology students will build wooden models.Precision Machining students will cut, mill, and assemble the storage lockers while students in Auto Collision Repair apply the special finish.Each phase of the project will be documented by TV-Video and Multimedia students while Graphic Design students will create a logo and contribute artwork.In addition to building storage lockers, students in Forensic Science and Renewable Energy will design and build science experiments with students from Lakewood High School's IB Design Technology program.Finally, Computer Science students will program machine controls for the science experiment.
Throughout the two-year process, students will be challenged to meet NASA's completion timelines and quality control requirements. Students will use teleconferencing as one of the communication tools to provide updates and pose questions to NASA personnel. In addition, a select few students will travel to Houston in 2010 to visit the Johnson Space Center.
For more information about this exciting program at WarrenTech and Lakewood High School, contact Dan Snare at 303-982-6563 or
dsnare@jeffco.k12.co.us.For more information about the NASA HUNCH Project visit these websites. WarrenTech, Jefferson County School District's Career and Technical High School, is open to any student at least 16 years old-and entering the third year of high school-from Jefferson, Clear Creek, or Gilpin counties. For more information, call 303-982-8600 or visit the website,
www.warrentech.org.