Project 62: Money!

'Money' has been a long-standing item on the project to-do list, and as there was the opportunity for a couple of trips to London this week it seemed like a good time to do it.

We started the week by exploring coins, their attributes, and how they are made, making use of the good classroom resources from the Royal Mint museum. 

We had two museum trips this week: the Bank of England Museum, and the British Museum Money Gallery. 

The Bank of England museum was surprisingly engaging for young children when you consider the subject matter.

'At the helm' at the Bank of England Museum 

They particularly liked 'At the helm', a game where you sail a boat and try and keep inflation steady at 2%. Despite spending about 3 hrs in the museum they would have happily stayed longer! The Bank of England also has an app for exploring the security features of a banknote we used when we got home. 

The British Museum Money Gallery gives you more of an overview of the history of coins, from some of the earliest coins to modern credit cards and phones.

Money at the British Museum

They enjoyed looking at the money boxes, and the opportunity to explore some of the objects and ask questions at the 'hands on' desk.

We got the children to design their own commemorative 50p coins and nominate a scientist for the new £50 note (with help from the Usborne Junior Illustrated Science Dictionary). They decided to nominate Robert Hooke. 

Cinderella and Fortnite commemorative coins. 

Next week: Fairy tales and folklore