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Austin performer JoAnn Benfield is helping bring Netflix's most-beloved children's shows and movies to deaf families in American Sign Language.

Why it matters: Many deaf children use ASL as their primary language, meaning captions alone don't always make programming fully accessible. 

Driving the news: Netflix and accessibility company SignUp on Monday launched 200 hours of children's programming in ASL across 73 titles.

The collection includes "The Magic School Bus Rides Again," "Cocomelon," "Pokémon Horizons" and dozens of other shows and movies.

Viewers can watch deaf performers overlaid alongside the original programming.

What they're saying: As a former teacher and assistant superintendent, Benfield says the project is about much more than entertainment.

She has seen firsthand how language deprivation affects deaf children.

"Having that access opens up more possibilities for them to fully participate," Benfield tells Axios.

By the numbers: SignUp launched via a Chrome extension with three interpreted titles in 2021 and has since translated more than 350 hours across ASL and British and Irish Sign Language.

SignUp has 25,000 monthly active users, per the company.

"When I started SignUp, I believed the Deaf community deserved access to entertainment in their language at the same scale everyone else takes for granted," Mariella Satow, founder of SignUp Media.

How it works: Benfield has years of experience in storytelling and has interpreted for artists including Metallica, Kelly Clarkson and Tove Lo, as well as at major events including Austin City Limits Music Festival, South by Southwest and the Super Bowl Halftime Show.

Still, preparing for each episode of "The Magic School Bus" takes several hours, Benfield says.

"It's got the terminology that we don't typically use every day because it's heavily science-based information," Benfield says.

"It's not just watching it and getting comfortable with the content. I actually have to research."

Zoom in: Benfield has a long history with "The Magic School Bus."

She interpreted the original series and movies for SignUp and even dressed as Ms. Frizzle for Halloween while working as a teacher.

For the new project, she performed every character across two seasons of "The Magic School Bus Rides Again."

"I am Professor Frizzle, Fiona Frizzle, Ralphie, Arnold, Wanda, Janet — I am all of them."

What's next: Netflix content in ASL is is now available to stream using SignUp's Google Chrome extension.

Austin performer brings Netflix shows to deaf families

Woman with curly hair in a black long-sleeve top stands in front of a green screen, smiling and gesturing with her hands as if explaining something.

JoAnn Benfield signs "Carlos," a character in the "The Magic School Bus Rides Again." Photo: Courtesy of JoAnn Benfield

Austin performer JoAnn Benfield is helping bring Netflix&#x27;s most-beloved children&#x27;s shows and movies to deaf families in American Sign Language.Why it matters: Many deaf children use ASL as their primary language, meaning captions alone don&#x27;t always make programming fully accessible.

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This report is part of "Texas Testbed," a series on how the state is becoming a real-world lab for emerging technologies.

Giant robotic printers are back at Community First! Village, building more than 100 homes as part of the East Austin neighborhood's expansion for people coming out of homelessness.

Why it matters: It's just one sign of how Texas has quietly become the proving ground for one of homebuilding's biggest experiments: 3D-printed homes.

Driving the news: University of Texas architecture professor Kory Bieg, who researches digital fabrication and emerging technology, says 3D-printed construction is finally beginning to mature after more than a decade of experimentation.

"This isn't a novelty anymore," says Bieg.

State of play: Austin-based Icon, at the vanguard of the technology, has become one of the country's best-known builders of 3D-printed homes since constructing its first permitted house in East Austin in 2018, though it wasn't immediately occupied.

Since then, the company has partnered with Lennar on one of the world's largest 3D-printed neighborhoods in Georgetown, built lakefront luxury homes, begun construction on El Cosmico's hotel and residences in Marfa, printed military barracks at Fort Bliss in West Texas, and is developing technology for NASA to eventually build a Moon base.

Texas is also home to other robotic construction efforts, including Muddy Robots' clay-based printing research and new 3D-printed housing projects emerging in Houston.

A man wearing a beige cowboy hat and green shirt stands beside a large white industrial robotic arm in a bright showroom. Exposed ceiling pipes, floor markings, and an EXIT sign are visible.

Icon CEO Jason Ballard stands in front of the company's latest printer, Icon, which is capable of printing multistory structures. Photo: Nicole Cobler/Axios

How it works: Icon's robotic printer can build a home's structural walls with a cement-based mortar, layer by layer within 24 hours, which Icon founder Jason Ballard tells Axios requires only two workers overseeing the project compared to 15 workers for a conventional wall system.

Icon's latest 3D-printing robotic construction system, Titan, has a $900,000 price tag with wall construction costs at $20 per square foot.

Friction point: 3D-printed technology only solves one part of the equation, and Bieg says framing is among the least expensive parts of building a home.

3D-printed homes still require conventional plumbing, electrical systems, HVAC, windows and other finish work, all of which rely on traditional labor.

Still, Icon has reduced costs by integrating channels for plumbing and electrical wiring directly into its printed wall systems, according to Bieg.

"I think that's been a way in which they've been able to bring down the cost of their technology to a place that starts to compete with our traditional building conventions," Bieg says.

Beige house with teal trim and curved walls, under a bright blue sky with clouds. A hanging chain from the roof overhang, large windows, dry grass foreground, and a small American flag on the left.

A 3D-printed home from Icon in East Austin's Community First! Village, which provides housing for those coming out of chronic homelessness. Photo: Nicole Cobler/Axios

Zoom in: Icon is working to prove that 3D-printed homes can help solve the housing affordability crisis in Austin's Community First! Village, where the company built some of its first homes for the chronically unhoused beginning in 2019.

Community First! Village rents range between roughly $350-$550, depending on the size of the home, according to founder Alan Graham. 

Some of the homes don't have plumbing — or have partial plumbing — which lowers the cost to build and rent. Residents walk to a nearby building for toilets, showers and a kitchen.

"If we can build consistently and profitably for Community First! Village, that means we're on the right track," Ballard says.

What they're saying: But it remains to be seen whether the technology can help drive down overall housing costs.

Ashley Jackson, a real estate agent with Mueller Residential Group, said land costs, infrastructure and housing supply continue to be the main drivers in home prices.

"Any additional housing, no matter how it's built, is very important," Jackson says. "But I don't think that any product could meaningfully make that affordability greater in just one broad stroke."

"It will take all types of housing, in all parts of the city, at every price point."

The bottom line: The technology still faces major questions about cost and scalability, but many of those answers are likely to emerge from projects in Texas.

"It's starting to catch hold in a real way that's starting to maybe make an impact in the construction industry," Bieg says.

Texas Testbed: What's next for 3D-printed homes

3D-printed construction is expanding, but it's unclear whether it will drive down housing costs.

Illustration of a robotic arm placing a roof onto a house.

This report is part of &quot;Texas Testbed,&quot; a series on how the state is becoming a real-world lab for emerging technologies.Giant robotic printers are back at Community First! Village, building more than 100 homes as part of the East Austin neighborhood&#x27;s expansion for people coming out of <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="homelessness" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/austin/2025/10/21/abbott-homeless-encampments-austin" data-vars-content-id="a0fb0998-8e58-4fbe-87a8-1320c8aac785" data-vars-headline="Texas Testbed: What&#x27;s next for 3D-printed homes" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/austin/2025/10/21/abbott-homeless-encampments-austin" target="_self">homelessness</a>.

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Nicole here, with a story about a really great guy.

I lost my 95-year-old grandpa last week, on the same day as my other grandfather's 88th birthday, which I was celebrating in Colorado.

Even at 95, it felt sudden. After a fall and brain bleed, he was gone within days. He was sharp, funny and full of life until the very end.

The big picture: I've been incredibly lucky to have had all four of my grandparents until now, so it's been tough to wrap my head around the fact that I can't just pick up the phone and call him anymore.

We'd often talk for over an hour, and he never missed a chance to tell me how much he loved me.

Zoom in: I'm especially grateful I got to spend so much time with him this year, making frequent trips to Arizona to visit him and my grandma after she was diagnosed with glioblastoma in February.

They were married for more than 62 years, and together they had a favorite saying: "Where would you rather be? Nowhere but here with you."

An elderly couple faces each other and smiles outdoors. The woman wears a navy dress with a pearl necklace; the man wears a plaid suit and tie, with mountains and a blue sky behind.

Nicole's grandma and grandpa at their home in Sonoita, Arizona. The two were married for over 62 years. Photo: Courtesy of Eunice Beck

My favorite memory with my grandpa came last September, when my husband and I traveled to their home in Sonoita, Arizona, to hold a wedding ceremony for just the two of them.

We knew travel would be really hard at their age, so we brought the celebration to them.

Grandpa gave a speech, we cried, kissed, cut the cake, popped champagne and danced.

"If all grandparents had this experience, I truly believe the world would be an infinitely better place," he told us during our ceremony.

The bottom line: It's a memory I treasure even more now, and one I'll return to whenever I miss him.

Two older adults dancing in a bright kitchen area while a man in a suit and a smiling woman in a floral dress sit nearby; white cabinets and wall art are visible.

Nicole and her husband watch her grandparents dance, something they did together for 62 years. Photo: Courtesy of Eunice Beck

Remembering a grandfather

My favorite memory with my grandpa came last September.

Outdoor wedding collage: left panel shows an elderly man in a plaid suit with a floral-dress bride; center features the couple with family under a blue sky; right close-up of the bride holding an elderly man's hand.

Nicole and her husband held a ceremony with her grandparents two weeks before their official wedding in Austin. Photo: Courtesy of Eunice Beck

Nicole here, with a story about a really great guy.I lost my 95-year-old <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="grandpa" data-vars-click-url="https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/tucson-az/walter-cobler-12970940" data-vars-content-id="d179746f-73d9-4d09-b7b7-262a72b8e215" data-vars-headline="Remembering a grandfather" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/tucson-az/walter-cobler-12970940" target="_blank">grandpa</a> last week, on the same day as my other grandfather&#x27;s 88th birthday, which I was celebrating in Colorado.

Tim Shea made headlines more than five years ago for moving into the world's first permitted 3D-printed home.

Zoom in: After Shea died in January at age 75, Community First! Village honored him with a hand-painted portrait and a resting place in its memorial garden, just as it does for every resident who dies there.

"What do y'all think about what God has done in here?" Alan Graham, the founder of Mobile Loaves & Fishes and key visionary behind the village, asked visitors as he pulled his golf cart beside the memorial garden on a recent summer day.

Colorful portraits displayed on a metal stand in a shop: a woman with glasses holding a yellow dog, a color-wheel artwork, a man with a blue bandana, and other vibrant faces; a plant sits to the right.

A watercolor of Tim Shea (right) in his red, white and blue bandana is displayed in Community First! Village. Shea, who is believed to be the first person to live in a 3D-printed home, died in January. Photo: Nicole Cobler/Axios

Catch up quick: Shea, who had experienced chronic homelessness, moved into one of Icon's 3D-printed homes in Community First! Village in December 2020 — the same week as his 70th birthday.

The milestone drew national attention, helping put Austin-based Icon and 3D-printed construction on the map.

Between the lines: At Community First! Village, the 3D-printed homes have become more than a place to test new technology.

Shea lived in his home until his death. Today, he's one of 53 former neighbors memorialized in the village's columbarium, where Community First! Village offers free cremation and a permanent resting place for residents who died while living there.

An older man with a bandana and sunglasses stands beside a chrome motorcycle outside a modern house with yellow window frames; a blue hose and an American flag are nearby.

Tim Shea in front of his 3D-printed home by Icon in Community First! Village. Photo: Courtesy of Mobile Loaves & Fishes

State of play: Community First! Village, off Decker Lake Road in East Austin, is undergoing an expansion that will more than double its size, adding more than 1,300 homes, including about 100 built by Icon's robotic printers.

The community and its $225 million expansion are funded by private donations and government grants.

What's next: As Community First! Village grows, so will the memorial garden where residents are remembered long after they're gone.

"We'll etch your name in granite ... Then we promise you, for the rest of our lives, we'll tell the story about who you are," Graham says.

Modern white stucco house with curved walls, large windows, and a wooden overhang. Black roof trim, desert landscaping with red flowers and rocks; blue sky with scattered clouds.

The village's 3D-printed hospice home, where residents can spend their final days surrounded by their neighbors and loved ones. Photo: Nicole Cobler/Axios

The lasting legacy of a 3D-printed home

Tim Shea's legacy lives on in the East Austin community that became his home.

Back view of a man in a brown shirt and black cap standing on a sidewalk between pastel beige and teal buildings with ribbed columns, under a bright blue sky and scattered clouds.

Alan Graham, the founder and CEO of Mobile Loaves & Fishes, walks by two 3D-printed homes made by Icon at Community First! Village. Photo: Nicole Cobler/Axios

This report is part of &quot;Texas Testbed,&quot; a series on how the state is becoming a real-world lab for emerging technologies.Tim Shea made headlines more than five years ago for moving into the world&#x27;s first permitted <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="3D-printed home" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/austin/2026/03/11/3d-printing-company-icon-expands-austin" data-vars-content-id="e406de68-95d0-4be8-92e0-b3ab7f50bf61" data-vars-headline="The lasting legacy of a 3D-printed home" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/austin/2026/03/11/3d-printing-company-icon-expands-austin" target="_self">3D-printed home</a>.

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With summer underway, we're breaking down our favorite beaches that are roughly four hours or less from Austin.

Pros: Galveston's free beaches and the history surrounding the city give you plenty to do during a weekend trip.

Plus, attractions like Moody Gardens, Pleasure Pier and The Strand will keep you busy after you've had your fill of sunshine.

Be prepared to pay for parking along the seawall. It's modestly priced at $2 per hour.

🐚 Our pro tip: Galveston Island State Park is usually a quieter alternative. Admission is $5 for anyone over 12. The park has solid facilities, space for grilling and camping, and is great for birding and exploring marshes.

Annual parking passes are $30, and day passes are $15.

Cons: Driving on the beach is a fun excursion, but getting your tires stuck in soft sand is no good.

Pros: It's quiet, calm and great for families who want a low-key beach day.

Cons: It's a small area, part of a 4.5-acre neighborhood park. It's free for residents, but $10 for nonresident adults.

Pros: Quintana is a gem of a beach with a nearby park and showers, plus RV and camping opportunities.

Cons: There also aren't as many restaurants or attractions nearby. From Memorial Day through Labor Day, there is a $5 parking fee per vehicle.

Pros: Like Surfside, you can park on this beach as well. And it's cheaper at $10 for a pass. 

It's a great beach tucked away on Bolivar Peninsula with a bit of history. Check out Fort Travis Park on your way out.

Cons: It's a ways away. For a smoother drive, your best bet is to take Interstate 10 to Winnie and head south to the peninsula.

Otherwise, you can take Interstate 45 to Galveston and wait for the ferry.

Pros: Wide stretches of sand, plenty of beachfront rentals, fishing charters, dolphin cruises and a lively restaurant scene make it one of the state's most popular coastal escapes.

Cons: Expect traffic getting onto Mustang Island during summer weekends, and parking near popular beach access points can fill up quickly.

🐚 Our pro tip: Head to Mustang Island State Park for a quieter beach experience, nature trails and kayak paddling trails.

Pros: Rockport Beach — Texas' first Blue Wave Beach — is clean, calm and family-friendly, with gentle water, shaded picnic areas and a long walking path. 

It's also one of the best birding destinations on the Texas coast.

Cons: If you're looking for surfing or nightlife, this isn't your spot. The beaches are smaller and the water is typically calmer than neighboring Port Aransas.

🐚 Our pro tip: Visit nearby Goose Island State Park to see the "Big Tree," a live oak estimated to be more than 1,000 years old, or rent a kayak to explore Aransas Bay.

📬 Tell us: What are your favorite Texas beaches? Just reply to this email.

Texas beaches within a 4-hour drive of Austin

Dreaming of sand and saltwater? We've rounded up some of our favorite Texas beaches.

A father pushes his son on a boogie board in the water in Galveston 

Galveston's waters are perfect for boogie boarding. Photo: Kirk Sides/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images

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With summer underway, we&#x27;re breaking down our favorite beaches that are roughly four hours or less from Austin.<h2 class="text-h6 !font-sans !font-normal !leading-[1.2em]">Galveston</h2>Pros: Galveston&#x27;s free beaches and the history surrounding the city give you plenty to do during a weekend trip.

Nicole Cobler

Featured stories

Texas beaches within a 4-hour drive of Austin

Remembering a grandfather

Austin performer brings Netflix shows to deaf families

Texas Testbed: What's next for 3D-printed homes

The lasting legacy of a 3D-printed home