Yes-to-Technology

Yes-2-Technology (Y2T) is a physical, life and earth science, IT and workforce development project for teens at the St. Louis Science Center. Funded by NSF’s ITEST program, the goal of the project is to provide disadvantaged teens with the opportunity to broaden their STEM and workplace skills and encourage them to consider further education and careers in IT or STEM.

The focus of this project is a former brown field site adjacent to the museum, now known as “Science Corner,” which the teens are developing into a living laboratory for sustainable urban horticulture. Teens have studied soil composition, plant growth and development, and effects of the weather on plant growth; they have designed low-cost greenhouse structures and built two geodesic greenhouses on the site; they have made DVD and Podcast presentations about their work; and they have taught classes about plants and structures to younger children. The site is now an attractive urban garden and a model for educating others about community food production within the St. Louis region.