The hour-long Money Matters workshops, running at Eureka! on weekdays from 1 – 18 February and 1 March – 1 April are designed to teach good financial habits to children from an early age through a playful introduction of often difficult concepts. Tying into the framework of Every Child Matters, the workshops meet curriculum goals for Maths and PSHCE – which teaches children about healthy living in its widest sense – for children aged 5 to11 years old.
The Museum’s bank exhibit, which is designed to replicate a real life high street bank, will be used to introduce financial literacy to children through role play. Teachers can book groups of up to 35 schoolchildren for an individual session starting in the early morning or late morning, which includes time to explore the rest of the museum.
Liz Smallman, Head of Learning at Eureka! said: ‘In the present climate, money worries aren’t far from most adult’s minds but we tend to forget the potential impact this could have on children, who hear words like mortgages, borrowing and debt but may not have an opportunity to enter into a dialogue about them. From a young age children receive money, spend money, make choices, barter, negotiate and plan and the foundations they are laying are important for developing their understanding and attitudes towards their finances in the future.
‘By introducing these concepts in playful way we can encourage children to debate money issues, and understand how financial products and services work so that they can make informed choices later in life. Money Matters builds children’s confidence by encouraging them to practice and understand the processes of money, which can have enormous benefits down the road’.
Damian Ward, Senior Lecturer in Economics at Bradford University School of Management, said: ‘Last year 135,000 people were declared insolvent. You can’t blame that all on the recession - too many people in this country simply don’t know how to manage their finances - or even know how to work out what is coming in and what’s going out. I applaud Eureka! for this initiative - if we can get children understanding money young, hopefully there will be less misery later in life.’
The workshops are tailored to match children’s learning abilities – Young Savers for Years 1 and 2 looks at what happens in a bank, Young Investors for Years 3 and 4 explores using money day to day and Young Earners for Years 5 and 6 focuses on the responsibility of earning a day’s wage.
Other activities running in the Spring Schools Programme at Eureka! include Space is Ace science workshops and Wallace and Gromit Invention Sessions as part of National Science and Engineering Week.
For more information and to book a workshop, visit www.eureka.org.uk/SchoolVisits/primary or call 01422 330012.
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For press information and/or photos please contact Allison Tara Sundaram or Anita O’Donovan on 01422 330069 or e-mail press.office@eureka.org.uk.
Read more about Money Matters workshops on the Eureka! blog: http://bit.ly/eJ3NbJ
Notes to the Editor
- Eureka! is designed especially for children age 0-11, with over 400 hands on exhibits inspiring them to learn about themselves and the world around them through imagination, play and discovery. For visitor information call 01422 330069, visit www.eureka.org.uk, read the Eureka! blog, All in a day’s play, become a fan on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
- The standard Eureka! ticket is now an Annual Pass. The Annual Pass entitles all of the party paid for on the day of the first visit to come back to Eureka! free of charge as many times as they like over the next 12 months. Adults*: £9.95, Children age 3+ : £9.95, Toddlers age 1-2: £3.45, Babies age 0-11 months: free. Read more about the Annual Pass.
- Eureka! is open daily 10am–5pm at weekends, during half-terms and holidays. Term-time Eureka! is open 10am –4pm Tuesday - Friday, and 10am-5pm Saturday and Sunday. The museum is closed on term-time Mondays and between 24-26 December.
- Eureka! is situated next door to Halifax railway station, just 10 minutes by car from junction 24 of the M62 and 17 miles from Leeds
- Eureka! is an educational charity no. 292758
