A group of 10 youth participated in a hydroponics program at the Brighton Center from the Youth Leadership Development program.  They were taught an introduction lesson to hydroponics using the Soilless Systems 4-H Curriculum.  The program participants learned about how to germinate a seed hydroponically, the fundamentals of hydroponics, about what a Plant Scientist does and other AgriScience Careers.  

A digital Qualtrics Survey was administered to the youth with a series of 7 questions.  A 5-point rating scale (1 being "no ability" to 5 "high ability") applied to their ability before and after the program.  The following questions were rated based on youth perceptions:  Ability to describe how to germinate a seed (1.9 before participating vs. 4.2 after participating); Ability to describe 'hydroponics' ( 2.1 before vs. 4.2 after), and Ability to describe experience with hydroponics (2.0 before vs. 4.2 after).  The biggest indicator rated at 4.8 (on a scale of 1 to 5) for youth when asked to rank their desire to learn more about careers in hydroponics.  Lastly, 70% of the participants indicated that they would be interested in a hydroponics community garden or to do hydroponics at home.