On a visit to the Lied Discovery Children's Museum, it is not uncommon to encounter a 15-year-old docent. These youth are part of the year-round YouthWorks program, designed to help participants discover their competencies and interests, develop communication and job skills, interact with and appreciate people of different cultures and ages and learn about careers that they never knew existed or did not believe were accessible to them. The participants are trained on the job by staff members. They learn about the exhibitions and how to present themselves to an audience. Youth work 4 hours a week on weekends during the school year and during the week in the summer. YouthWorks is one component of the YouthALIVE! program, a multiyear national initiative of the DeWitt Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund in partnership with the Association of Science-Technology Centers, created to reach youth who traditionally are not served by museums. ArtSmarts, the other component of the Lied Discovery ChildrenÌs Museum program, matches youth with artists-in-residence for 12 weeks, 10-14 hours per week, to design and complete artwork for the Museum. Projects, which culminate in a parent reception, have included a movable mural, a community history video and an architectural piece about walls. Some youth participate in consecutive residencies. "Through YouthWorks and ArtSmarts, youth are learning how to communicate their thoughts and opinions, and they are opening up and showing increased self-confidence," says Director Suzanne LeBlanc.