Museum of American Finance Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Museum of American Finance

Looking northeast from Wall Street toward the museum.
Established	1988 (as the Museum of American Financial History)
Location	48 Wall Street New York City, United States
Type	Finance museum; Smithsonian Institution affiliate
Public transit access	Subway: at Wall Street, at Broad Street Bus: M15, M55

The Museum of American Finance is a special museum that teaches about money and the history of finance in America. It's located in the Financial District in Manhattan, New York City. This museum is connected to the famous Smithsonian Institution. It's also a non-profit organization, which means it focuses on education, not making money. A big part of its goal is to help people understand how money works. This is called financial literacy.

The museum started in 1988. Back then, it was called the Museum of American Financial History. In 2005, its name changed to the Museum of American Finance. For a while, it was located at 26 Broadway. Then, in 2008, it moved to a new spot at 48 Wall Street. This building used to be the main office for the Bank of New York. Sadly, in 2018, the museum's building had a flood. Because of this, they are still looking for a new permanent home.

Learning About Money
What You Can See: Collections and Exhibits
- The Alexander Hamilton Exhibit
Special Events and Programs
Who Leads the Museum?
Images for kids
See also

Learning About Money

In 2010, the museum created its Center for Financial Education. This center offers classes for students of all ages. They have programs for kids from kindergarten all the way up to college students studying business. The museum also offers special tours.

In 2011, they started the Museum Finance Academy (MFA). This is an eight-week after-school program. It helps high school juniors and seniors learn about managing their own money. From 2011 to 2013, the museum worked with Junior Achievement. They offered a program called "Finance Park" at the museum's education center.

What You Can See: Collections and Exhibits

The museum collects many interesting items related to money and markets. These include old documents and artifacts. Their collection has over 10,000 items. You can see old stock certificates, bonds, pictures, engravings, photos, old bank notes, and checks. They also have many books about finance.

The museum has permanent exhibits that teach about the financial markets, money, and banking. They also cover entrepreneurship (starting a business) and Alexander Hamilton. They also have temporary exhibits that change over time. Some past exhibits have included "Checks & Balances: Presidents and American Finance." Another one was "Scandal! Financial Crime Chicanery and Corruption That Rocked America."

The Alexander Hamilton Exhibit

A special exhibit called "Alexander Hamilton: Indispensable Founder and Visionary" opened in 2014. Timothy Geithner, who used to be the Secretary of the Treasury, helped open it. This exhibit is in the Hamilton room at the museum. It was put together by John Herzog, who founded the museum, and Mariana Oller.

This exhibit was made to celebrate a special anniversary. It marked 225 years since Alexander Hamilton became the first Secretary of the Treasury. Today, this exhibit is one of the museum's main attractions. It shows rare items connected to Alexander Hamilton and his ideas for America's money system. Luckily, the museum's collections were not damaged during the 2018 flood.

Special Events and Programs

The museum hosts many talks and events with experts from the financial world. These speakers discuss current money topics and important moments in American financial history. Some famous speakers have included John Bogle and Sallie Krawcheck.

Other programs include the Lunch and Learn Series. These are talks and presentations held during lunchtime. The museum also offers walking tours and shows films. Each year, the museum holds a special gala event. At this event, they give out the Whitehead Award. This award honors someone who has done great public service and leadership in finance. It is named after John C. Whitehead, a former leader at Goldman Sachs.

Since 2012, the museum has worked with the Alexander Hamilton Awareness Society. They host several events together each year. These include "CelebrateHAMILTON" and "Happy Birthday Hamilton!" programs. Events have included talks about Alexander Hamilton's life and debates between historical interpreters. There have also been "Conversation with the Curators" sessions. These talks explain how original Hamilton documents were collected for the exhibit.

Who Leads the Museum?

The museum was started in 1987 by John E. Herzog. He was the CEO of a company called Herzog Heine Geduld, Inc. He decided to create the museum after a big drop in the stock market crash that year. Mr. Herzog was a key leader in the museum's early days. Today, he is the chairman and trustee emeritus. Other important leaders include Richard E. Sylla, who is the chairman of the board, and David Cowen, the President and CEO.