Moneyville, A Summative Evaluation Report

From the fall of 2000 through the fall of 2004, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) received funding from the National Science Foundation to create a math-based exhibit for school-aged children and their families. The end result was Moneyville, a colorful and inviting traveling exhibition offered in two configurations - the original full-size 6000-square-foot version and a reduced version designed to accommodate smaller venues, such as children's museums and discovery centers. Both exhibitions were designed to teach visitors about "making economic choices with the power of mathematics." OMSI staff also produced a comprehensive Teachers Guide as a support for school groups who visited Moneyville. Inverness Research Associates has served as the external evaluator for Moneyville since the OMSI design team developed their first prototypes. Our work has included a range of activities at various stages of the project, from interviewing families around the first pre-production version of the full exhibition to following the smaller version to its first traveling venue. OMSI had four major goals in designing Moneyville: to promote mathematics learning grounded in real-life contexts, to encourage economic literacy, to provide opportunities for family learning, to create exhibits reflective of the NCTM Standards for grades K - 8.