Suffolk Public Schools is the host of an annual robotics challenge sponsored by Penn State and the US Department of Defense. ActiVAtED Learning Host Tom Landon traveled to Suffolk to talk to Christine Lafferty and John Littlefield to learn more.

Before goods are shipped in trucks or containers, they are usually placed in protective packaging and arranged on pallets for efficient transport. Stacking goods on a pallet is a repetitive job that can cause injury to workers. Because of this, many factories that require a high volume of palletization have turned to using robots to perform palletizing tasks. In this lesson plan, students learn how to program a robot to be efficient and effective at this real-world task.