Moneyville uses the fascinating subject of money to build math skills and economic expertise in a fun, immersive setting. The colorful city includes a bank, store, anti-counterfeiting lab, stock market, and international port. Visitors can create "money," explore anti-counterfeiting measures, and see what a million dollars looks like. Throughout the exhibit, visitors will discover how money is made, spent, earned, and saved, and how it connects people around the world.
The girls enjoyed this exhibit--I really liked seeing what a million dollars looked like.
We also learned about the history of money:
The History of Money
What is money? Why was it invented?
The story of money is really the story of trade. Explore the timeline and discover how the invention of money—in all its many forms—has made trade easier.
Scene One
Commodity Money (beginning around 9000BC)
Before money is invented, people get what they want by bartering—trading one thing for another. Over time, certain goods, such as cows, grain, and shells, come to be widely used to measure the value of other goods. People began using these “commodities” as an easier way to pay for things and to store wealth for the future. “Money” is born!
Moo-lah! (beginning around 9000-6000 BC)
Cattle are used as money throughout Asia, Africa, and Europe. And no wonder. Everyone agrees that cattle are valuable. But if your cow dies, your wealth disappears.
The earliest writing—receipts (around 3100 BC)
Writing begins as a way to keep track of trade—to record receipts and taxes. The earliest known form of writing, cuneiform, is developed in Mesopotamia, an area in what is today Iraq. The earliest banks begin here, too. Royal palaces and temples serve as safe places to keep valuable commodities.
Scene two
Metal money (beginning around 3000BC)
People begin using metals—copper, bronze, silver, and gold—as money. Metal money makes trade even easier. It’s durable, portable and can be made into pieces of different sizes and values. It’s considered valuable by just about everyone. Plus, it can always be melted down and made into something useful—tools or jewelry.
Balancing act (1300s BC)
The earliest metal money takes many different forms—lumps, coils, and rings. But with each trade, the metal must be weighed to assure its value. The ancient Egyptians use balances and weights to measure the value of their early metal money—gold rings.
The first coins (around 650 BC)
They Lydians, who live in what is now Turkey, make the earliest known coins. Lydian coins are made of electrum, a natural mix of gold and silver. The coins are stamped with images to guarantee their weight and value—and to help prevent counterfeiting. Coins make trade easier, since they don’t have to be weighted each time they’re used.
Coins catch on (around 509BC-AD 476)
The Romans spread the use of coins throughout their growing empire—the Mediterranean world and most of Europe. Trade grows, too, as the Roman army protects trade routes. Along with coins, salt is used to pay Roman soldiers. In fact, the English word salary comes from the Latin word salarium, which means “salt money.”
Scene Three
Paper money (beginning around AD 806)
The Chinese invent paper money around AD 806. Paper money makes trade even easier, since a single piece of paper can equal the value of a heavy bag of coins—as long as everyone agrees to accept it. Eventually, paper money becomes one of the most widely used forms of money in the world.
The first paper money (AD 806)
The Chinese were the first to make paper money, and Chinese emperors use their power and authority to spread the use of this new invention. Once a paper is stamped with the emperor’s seal, it’s as good as gold. A lightweight paper note can now replace a heavy bag of coins!
Check your Math! (1100s-1200s)
The newly introduced Hindu-Arabic numerals make record keeping easier for European merchants. This new number system has a zero and place value, which make calculations easy enough to do with just pen and paper—no abacus needed. Developed by mathematicians in India and the Middle East, these numerals are the ones we use today: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4…
Early Banks (1400s)
Italian money merchants set up shop at markets and fairs throughout Europe. The bench where they exchange money and make loans is called a banco, which later becomes the English word bank.
First US Money (1775-1780)
Congress issues paper currency called “continentals” to finance the Revolutionary War but prints so many that the bills lose their value. For the next eighty years, almost all paper money in the US is printed by state or private banks. Not until the Civil War does the federal government again begin printing the nation’s money.
Goodbye Gold Standard (1933)
The US Treasury orders all gold certificates retuned to the government. At one time, people could redeem these notes for real gold—but no more. Now US currency is based only on the faith of the people who use it.
Scene Four
Electronic money (beginning around 1950)
Electronic cash is the new money. It does everything that paper and coins do but is even more convenient. This computer-driven revolution is still underway. Who knows what will come next!
The first credit cards (1950)
Diners Club offers charge cards in the US—the first “plastic money.” The Diners Club card can only be used at 27 restaurants in New York. It’s not until magnetic-stripe technology is developed in the 1970s that credit cards become widely used.
Money Online (1990s)
The popularization of the Internet leads to a new type of purchasing—the electronic mail order. Coding technology, called encryption, is used to protect Internet money exchanges.
21st Century Barter (2002)
Due to economic problems and cash shortage in Argentina, car dealers begin accepting grain as payment for new cars. Throughout history, when people lose faith in money, they often rely on the earliest for of trade—barter.
The end??
What do you think the future of money will be?
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