Bank of Canada Museum • Tapped Out Travellers

The Bank of Canada Museum is only one of many free things to do in Ottawa that will entertain the kids and teach mum and dad a little something at the same time

What is the Bank of Canada? What does it do? And why does it matter to me?

According to the GSM Project, the group mandated to oversee the design, the Bank of Canada Museum is “targeting youth aged 15 to 25 years old, the exhibition explores the four key functions of the Bank of Canada — setting monetary policy, promoting a sound financial system, issuing Canada’s bank notes and acting as fiscal agent for the Government of Canada.”

OK so this may not sound like the most entertaining museum in the city, and we didn’t even go here on purpose. I thought this was the Royal Mint of Canada, and we needed to kill time before our return time for the Parliament tour. Either way, this is right around the corner, it’s dry and warm, and kept the kids entertained. So it ended up being a great choice.

Like many other interactive museums, we were given wristbands and asked to provide some personal information about ourselves; type of employment, general spending habits and the size of our family. throughout the museum, we were asked questions and shown how our choices affect the overall Canadian and the Global Economy. Everything we purchase and don’t purchase has an effect on our economy.

For the kids, there were a handful of games they could play, a model spaceship Munchkin sat in and shot down spaceships. I didn’t understand the premise of this activity or how it related to the museum itself but he had a great time doing it, so there is that.

It takes roughly 1 hour to go through the whole museum. More if you don’t have little ones rushing you to the next station. We did come across a school group, adults learning about Canada before getting their citizenship, and a few other families with children. This museum does serve a purpose and when I get the chance, I would like to go back on my own and truly read the plaques and see what they have to say.

I don’t know about you but I didn’t do that well in MacroEconomics in CEGEP. I’m sure I could learn a lot at the Bank of Canada Museum.

What’s even better, is the museum’s ability to make cryptocurrency accessible to everyone, even this tech-illiterate mama. Don’t expect me to be making any large cyber-purchases in the near future, but at least now I have a vague understanding of what everyone is going on about.