Healthy Hydration...With Robots!

Published in our September 2025 newsletter

Lincoln High School and Northeast Community Propel Academy are such close neighbors that they share a parking lot. This physical proximity makes the two schools an ideal pair for a learning partnership.

Program Manager Danielle has provided nutrition education at Lincoln High School and has developed a successful partnership with the students in the Robotics Club, with whom she has been working for 3 years (and counting!). Students in the Robotics Club are particularly interested in healthy hydration habits, from the intersection between water and computer technology to the hydration habits of their classmates.

Meanwhile, Nutrition Coordinator Hannah has been busy with programming at Northeast Community Propel Academy, helping students develop healthy eating habits, such as adding more fruits and vegetables to their plates. The two Eat Right Philly team members and their respective schools decided that this would be the perfect opportunity for a collaboration.

The Robotics Club students were excited to teach younger Propel students about healthy hydration, show off their robots, and share a tasty, healthy drink—but first, they had a lot of planning to do! The students worked with Danielle and Hannah to adapt an Eat Right Philly nutrition lesson for their event, then learned how to teach the lesson to their peers. The group of 6 students practiced the lessons both on their own and with Danielle and Hannah. They also planned out a demonstration of their robots, along with a presentation about STEM fields, and worked with Hannah and Danielle to decide upon a healthy beverage recipe for the samples.

In late May the day of the event finally arrived! A group of 2nd grade students from Propel Academy, accompanied by their teachers, walked over to Lincoln High School to learn about healthy hydration and STEM from their older peers. The Robotics Club students were well prepared and did an excellent job teaching the hydration lesson! The high school students then broke into smaller groups; one group helped prepare and serve a tasting of fresh mango limeade (blended with lots of real fruit!) while another group talked to the younger students about robotics and the many ways these machines are involved in our everyday lives.

The careful planning paid off: the event was a huge success! The elementary students benefitted from a tailored hydration lesson that included fun and memorable elements, such as a demonstration of the robots the high school students had built and getting to taste a nutritious and flavorful beverage option. The high school students got just as much out of the day, from sharing their passion for technology and health to their peers to gaining valuable presentation skills. One of the Robotics Club members was particularly nervous about the lesson, because English is not his first language. But he delivered his section flawlessly and his accomplishment inspired other Lincoln High School students for whom English is also a second language.

The biggest achievement, however, is that this day reflects the years of partnership between Eat Right Philly and the School District of Philadelphia. As a Pennsylvania SNAP-Ed program, one of Eat Right Philly’s foremost goals is to promote sustainability in nutrition education; the dedication and excitement of all the students involved in this collaboration proves that a fruitful partnership truly makes a difference in students’ lives.

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