Are coins small and boring? Developing an experiential based education programme

Abstract

With the refurbishment of the Citi Money Gallery came the foresight to include a dedicated education programme. The collection is perfectly placed to reinvigorate financial education, which is becoming more prominent on social policy agendas.

Financial education considers the local, national and international levels and is more than just creating budget sheets. It is about the appreciation of money and how to make effective decisions around it; a contextualized education programme can facilitate this. However there are numerous barriers that prevent schools from participating in financial education as well as visiting museums. This paper will consider the challenges faced by the Citi Money Gallery education programme and strategies to overcome them, including the role of object handling, creating a teacher advisory panel and investing in a pilot phase.