You can use the command line tool:

hexpand

usage: hexpand -p: prepends the ‘cpio.’ prefix to the contents and dir files

hexpand will expand a Houdini scene file into a directory structurethat can be browsed and edited using standard tools, then collapsedback into a regular .hip file using hcollapse

I don't know if this command is available to Apprentice users but you give it a try. It requires you to use a shell with the Houdini environment in place. You can open such a shell from Houdini's main menu.