|
A new exhibit highlights growth of living standards, the need for price stability and the Fed's role in the economy. |
Do you know what dry, economic buzzwords like inflation and deflation mean?
Or the definition of the Consumer Price Index?
Many of the people who were asked those questions in the short welcome video of The Fed Experience at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond didn't know either.
So the interactive, multimedia exhibit, which opened yesterday, was designed to provide a fun way to liven up economics while boosting financial literacy and explaining the links between people's daily decisions and the role played by the Federal Reserve's regional banks.
"The individual choices people make every day--about things like which clothes to buy, which movies to see or which colleges to attend--both affect our personal well-being as well as the local economy," said Jeffrey M. Lacker, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, during a media preview of the exhibit.
"To paraphrase a venerable old comic-strip character, we want people to come away with the sense that 'We have met the economy, and it is us.'"
The free exhibit, which replaces the Fed's Money Museum, is designed to appeal to all ages but is especially useful for middle schoolers. Beginning with the ninth-grade class of 2011, Virginia students will be required to have one credit in economics and personal finance in order to graduate.
The Fed Experience exhibit aligns with both the national and state standards of learning, and its website, thefedexperience.org, provides classroom tools.
Among the exhibit's highlights is the Price Stability Challenge, where players standing around a pool-table-size touch screen make purchases, deposit savings and adjust their life/work/education balance in a fast-paced three-minute game. The one with the most money at the end wins.
"The touch table is the largest in the East Coast," said tour guide Alan Coker. "It's basically a giant iPad."
Other exhibits include Name Your Price Market, which lets a "buyer" on one side of a touch screen and a "seller" on the other side haggle over the price of such things as sneakers and pizza parties; and Defining Moments, which shows video clips of past presidents and Fed chairmen talking about three significant economic eras, including the Great Depression.
The history of the Federal Bank of Richmond and the role of the Fed and its regional banks also are featured, as is a section showing how living standards have improved since Colonial times.
Cathy Jett: 540/374-5407
Email: cjett@freelancestar.com
