Denver exhibit house helps create financial education park

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock officially opened Denver’s new JA Finance Park on Wednesday, October 12, 2011. This exhibit is the first semi-permanent JA Finance Park in America – giving students across Metro Denver, northern Colorado and southern Wyoming the opportunity to learn how to develop and stick to a budget.

PG Exhibits, an exhibit design and production company in Denver, worked with Junior Achievement – Rocky Mountain Inc. from vision to completion to help bring the project to life.

“Do you remember the board game Life®? With this large-scale exhibit, we’ve been able to help Junior Achievement build that in real life,” said Jim McGrath, owner of PG Exhibits. “As a supporter of Junior Achievement – Rocky Mountain Inc., we are thrilled to help their organization make a unique impact on students through an oversized display we can reassemble anywhere they want it next.”

Located in the Wells Fargo Atrium at 1700 Broadway in downtown Denver, the 5,500 square-foot exhibit is practically a stroll down Main Street, where students must choose how to spend their income. Mock storefronts and interactive kiosks sell everything from cell phones and home furnishings to utilities and health insurance, allowing the kids to decide what they can afford to buy for themselves and their families.

This immersive approach teaches students the importance of financial responsibility in real-life scenarios while simultaneously achieving state standards for personal financial literacy education.

Leading Denver exhibit marketing solution company PG Exhibits has been honored to build this unique experience for Junior Achievement Colorado.

In January, the entire JA Finance Park will relocate to American Furniture Warehouse in Thornton at 8501 Grant, where it will operate through the end of the 2011/2012 school year.

“The team at PG Exhibits took our bold vision for JA Finance Park and made it a reality,” said Robin Wise, president and CEO of Junior Achievement-Rocky Mountain Inc. “The result is fun, engaging, and one-of-a-kind learning environment where students will develop and retain the skills needed to build and maintain a household budget and own their economic futures.”