The Hungarian Money Museum and Visitor Center is once again inviting applications from educational institutions for its "Suitcase Museum - Journey around money" programme. The financial education initiative was launched on the 1^st of September in 2023. Since then, more than 850 sessions have been held by the museum's educators, which means that almost 25,000 students have participated in the programme in various educational institutions across the country, including the Erzsébet Camp in Zánka in the summer.

The aim of the sessions is to introduce general financial education to young people in a playful and interactive way, and to bring financial education to as many parts of the country as possible. An important aspect in the creation of the project was to bring the necessary financial education to pupils who live or study in settlements far from the capital, or in disadvantaged areas, or who cannot travel to Budapest to the Money Museum because due to a lack of time or money, so that the children can receive the necessary financial education.

The cricket works in the service industry!

During the sessions, the youngest children are introduced to financial processes and learn how to manage money through stories such as Jean de La Fontaine's The Cricket and the Ant. Everyone thinks of the cricket as the bad example, but it's worth remembering that there are many artists on earth who make their living by playing music, performing on stage, painting, writing. They are not the bad example, they just don't work in the production industry, they get paid for their services. Of course, they could set aside some of their earnings too. They also take as their basis fairy tales such as “The little rooster's diamond half-crown” and “The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs”, which, even if they may not seem like it at first glance, have become a brilliant example of financial education in these sessions.

These tales are, of course, for primary school children, while secondary school children can start their own business, just for fun, of course, or help those in need, but in their case, they can also explore the topic of family budgets or modern money management.

Counterfeiting money is not job!

During the sessions, young people can take a look at the security features of coins and banknotes and examine under a magnifying glass the micro-engravings on paper money, or even the embossing and what the gardener has in his hand on a 500 forint note!

You have never seen the gardener on the 500-forint banknote before, have you?

But the gardener is there, and they have something in their hands.

Did you know, for example, that banknotes are not printed on wood-based paper? Yes, banknotes are now printed on a paper-like material made of cotton, which has an almost invisible watermark, plus countless micro-lettering, and a pattern, writing, metallic thread and markings that are only visible under UV light. Educators of the Suitcase Museum will show you all these marks and explain why they are necessary and what makes today's banknotes so secure. Yes, indeed! Counterfeiting is not easy these days!

Safe online too!

Yes, in today's world, it is not enough to have secure physical money. We must also manage our bank account(s) and transfers one hundred percent well! The sessions also cover how to keep your bank account or investments safe. Of course, these sessions are already aimed at secondary school students, where in some cases credit, monetary policy, investments, lending and the banking system are already covered. In short, the Money Museum, Suitcase Museum programme gives all school-age youngsters a guide to finance in a playful, interactive way.

In fact, our educators are working to involve even "kindergarten students" in the programme, so that even the youngest children can learn about financial education.

Just a little surfing on the net!

To request the Suitcase Museum sessions, all teachers and school administrators need to do is register and request the service at https://www.penzmuzeum.hu/muzeum/muzeumpedagogia/borondmuzeum/.

Important: the service is free of charge anywhere in Hungary but requires institutional registration and appointment booking! The sessions are only available in Hungarian at the moment.