Interactive Museum of Economics
Encyclopedia
The Interactive Museum of Economics (Museo Interactivo de Economía) or MIDE is the first museum in the world dedicated exclusively to economics
. The museum was opened in 2006 and is located on Tacuba Street in the historic center of Mexico City
. The museum is open to the public and features hands-on exhibits meant to make the basic concepts of economics fun and engaging. The museum is housed in the old Bethlehemite
convent and hospital. Before the Bank of Mexico acquired the building in 1990, it was in ruins and filled with debris. It took fifteen years to restore the building to what it probably looked like in the 19th century.
One reason for the museum is to promote economic education, which is not taught in public schools. The exhibits are aimed at breaking down basic economic concepts in demonstrating how every Mexican affects and is affected by the economy. One conception that the museum seeks to overcome is that economics is boring and only for experts and politicians. The museum’s director also stresses that the museum only serves to educate and promote critical thinking about the science of economics, not a particular political point of view. The museum was awarded the Miguel Covarrubias
Prize for the planning of the museum and restoration of the colonial era building. In 2007, the museum had 160,000 visitors and with the number of visitors to the museum growing each month.
The museum has five areas “individual economics,” “social economics,” “economics and money,” “government” and “welfare and development,” containing more than fifty interactive exhibits which are distributed on three floors of the building. Visitors can visit a simulated market, observe how money is printed, start a corporation, design their own currency and observe governmental functions such as banking and regulation. It has databanks with educational resources, financial and consumer information and more. Unfortunately, only a few of the exhibits provide English descriptions.
MIDE added a new room to the museum called “The Future of Money.” This area deals with electronic and other forms of payment. Technical issues covered include creating a digital identity and experimenting with different ways to pay electronically. One possible future innovation explored is the ability to print one’s own credit card.
The museum also contains a large numismatic collection from the Bank of Mexico. The coin collection includes the most valuable collection of colonial era coins from Latin America.
The Foro Education portion of the museum foundation promotes courses, workshops, seminars and other activities to organizations outside the museum. These events can cover topics such as personal finance, consumer information as well as scholarly topics for professors and other professionals.
. The building covers half of a city block on Tacuba Street between Bolivar and Filomeno Mata. Before it was completely abandoned, the building was used as a tenement
with frozen rents and a cheap hotel. The owners decided to cover the inside courtyard in order to construct more rooms. The Bank of Mexico acquired the building in 1990. The building was restored completely to the way is most likely looked two centuries ago.
Before restoration, the building was in ruins and only contained a large quantity of debris. The convent was restored by the Bank of Mexico in cooperation with the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH). The entities state that the restoration project was difficult but was one of the most important undertaken in the past decades in the historic center. The building has four levels: ground floor, mezzanine, second and third floors, with an area of 3,700m2. The restoration took fifteen years to complete and was concluded in 2004 at a cost of 1.6 million US dollars. In some areas, colonial era tiles were covered in fifteen layers of paint.
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
. The museum was opened in 2006 and is located on Tacuba Street in the historic center of Mexico City
Historic center of Mexico City
The historic center of Mexico City is also known as the "Centro" or "Centro Histórico." This neighborhood is focused on the Zócalo or main plaza in Mexico City and extends in all directions for a number of blocks with its farthest extent being west to the Alameda Central The Zocalo is the largest...
. The museum is open to the public and features hands-on exhibits meant to make the basic concepts of economics fun and engaging. The museum is housed in the old Bethlehemite
Bethlehemites
Bethlehemites, or Bethlemites, is a name borne at different times by three orders dedicated to Our Lady of Bethlehem in the Roman Catholic Church.-Military orders of Bethlehemites:There were two military orders known under the name of Bethlehemites....
convent and hospital. Before the Bank of Mexico acquired the building in 1990, it was in ruins and filled with debris. It took fifteen years to restore the building to what it probably looked like in the 19th century.
The museum
The Interactive Museum of Economics is the first museum in the world dedicated exclusively to economics. The museum was opened in 2006 was opened with the sponsorship of the Bank of Mexico, the Nacional Financiera and other government organizations. The museum is open to the public but its focus is on students, teachers and economic professional providing hands-on exhibits meant to be fun and engaging.One reason for the museum is to promote economic education, which is not taught in public schools. The exhibits are aimed at breaking down basic economic concepts in demonstrating how every Mexican affects and is affected by the economy. One conception that the museum seeks to overcome is that economics is boring and only for experts and politicians. The museum’s director also stresses that the museum only serves to educate and promote critical thinking about the science of economics, not a particular political point of view. The museum was awarded the Miguel Covarrubias
Miguel Covarrubias
José Miguel Covarrubias Duclaud was a Mexican painter and caricaturist, ethnologist and art historian among other interests. In 1924 at the age of 19 he moved to New York City armed with a grant from the Mexican government, tremendous talent, but very little English speaking skill. Luckily,...
Prize for the planning of the museum and restoration of the colonial era building. In 2007, the museum had 160,000 visitors and with the number of visitors to the museum growing each month.
The museum has five areas “individual economics,” “social economics,” “economics and money,” “government” and “welfare and development,” containing more than fifty interactive exhibits which are distributed on three floors of the building. Visitors can visit a simulated market, observe how money is printed, start a corporation, design their own currency and observe governmental functions such as banking and regulation. It has databanks with educational resources, financial and consumer information and more. Unfortunately, only a few of the exhibits provide English descriptions.
MIDE added a new room to the museum called “The Future of Money.” This area deals with electronic and other forms of payment. Technical issues covered include creating a digital identity and experimenting with different ways to pay electronically. One possible future innovation explored is the ability to print one’s own credit card.
The museum also contains a large numismatic collection from the Bank of Mexico. The coin collection includes the most valuable collection of colonial era coins from Latin America.
The Foro Education portion of the museum foundation promotes courses, workshops, seminars and other activities to organizations outside the museum. These events can cover topics such as personal finance, consumer information as well as scholarly topics for professors and other professionals.
The building
It is located in the restored building that belonged to the old Convent of the Bethlehemites on Tacuba Street. The building was constructed as a hospital in the 18th century by the Bethlehemites,which was the only religious order founded in the Americas. This religious order was later disbanded by the Spanish Crown for supporting insurgents during the Mexican War of IndependenceMexican War of Independence
The Mexican War of Independence was an armed conflict between the people of Mexico and the Spanish colonial authorities which started on 16 September 1810. The movement, which became known as the Mexican War of Independence, was led by Mexican-born Spaniards, Mestizos and Amerindians who sought...
. The building covers half of a city block on Tacuba Street between Bolivar and Filomeno Mata. Before it was completely abandoned, the building was used as a tenement
Tenement
A tenement is, in most English-speaking areas, a substandard multi-family dwelling, usually old, occupied by the poor.-History:Originally the term tenement referred to tenancy and therefore to any rented accommodation...
with frozen rents and a cheap hotel. The owners decided to cover the inside courtyard in order to construct more rooms. The Bank of Mexico acquired the building in 1990. The building was restored completely to the way is most likely looked two centuries ago.
Before restoration, the building was in ruins and only contained a large quantity of debris. The convent was restored by the Bank of Mexico in cooperation with the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH). The entities state that the restoration project was difficult but was one of the most important undertaken in the past decades in the historic center. The building has four levels: ground floor, mezzanine, second and third floors, with an area of 3,700m2. The restoration took fifteen years to complete and was concluded in 2004 at a cost of 1.6 million US dollars. In some areas, colonial era tiles were covered in fifteen layers of paint.