Museum of Savings – Best Non-financial Services Company – Special Commendation | The MAIAs 2022
Museums are designed to be entertaining for the whole family. Financial education, if done right, can be enjoyed by all ages. So, why not combine the two?
MAIAwards co-founder Trudi Harris Dubon said, “Museums aim to be cross-generational, engaging, and informative. They also cover a variety of fields and topics, so it makes sense to create one dedicated to financial literacy. The Museum of Savings is a great idea that has helped a lot of people.”
The MAIAwards judges agreed and gave the Museum of Savings a Special Commendation!
The Museum of Savings is an innovative edutainment project that aims to teach families the basic concepts of savings and investments. It was founded in Turin, Italy, in 2012.
Giovanna Paladino, the director and curator of the museum, explains, “Most people find it challenging to manage their money due to a lack of basic knowledge. This was something we could help with, so we set up the world’s first museum dedicated to promoting financial education to help people make conscious decisions and achieve their life goals.
“However, we knew that it needed to be entertaining for people to want to visit and engage. That’s why our innovative spaces are designed for families, adults, and schools. We use edutainment and a game-based learning approach to teach them the art of money management and improve financial literacy in a way that is easy to understand and is exciting.”
The Museum of Saving was conceived as an entertaining space and edutainment project using the latest technology.
“We are an innovative multimedia laboratory that helps children, teenagers, and adults. We have gaming apps, podcasts, educational quizzes, cartoons, and an Artificial Intelligence installation for younger audiences. For the grownups, there are digital events, webinars, debates, and live talks designed for adults to increase their financial culture and awareness of social issues,” Giovanna says.
“The exhibition includes six rooms entirely based on multimedia content, using cutting-edge technologies. Technology is at the core of our approach, and we use enjoyable but rigorous content to reach different targets. In addition, we cross over with other disciplines, such as literature and cinema, to show people how ‘money makes the world go round’ in a more immersive way.”
New technology has allowed the Museum of Saving to develop animated videos, video games, educational apps and quizzes, and podcasts. But it has also helped improve their reach and the education they offer.
“Thanks to the blending of physical and online activities, the Museum of Saving reached 45,600 users during 2021, including 40,000 students and teachers with a total of 844 hours of training provided, and 5600 adults,” Giovanna says.
Like other museums, digital technology has made other projects possible and helps spread the message through the internet. For example, the S.A.V.E. Virtual Tour (www.savetour.it) launched in 2021 in collaboration with EIB Institute.
“The S.A.V.E. project is our successful virtual tour on economic and environmental sustainability based on role-plays, digital labs, and contests,” Giovanna says. “It has already been adopted by 740 classes throughout Italy.
“In addition, we have launched ‘Drizza Le Antenne’, another educational program dedicated to the mix between financial education and digital security. It has been administered to over 2,000 primary and secondary school students.”
MAIAwards co-founder Trudi Harris Dubon adds, “As many of our MAIAwards winners, runners-up, and Special Commendations have shown – financial literacy is essential for people to gain control of their money and become financially independent. But learning about finance can be fun as well as informative. The Museum of Saving is a great idea that presents knowledge in a way that appeals to all generations.”
For more information, you can visit their website, or email us at michael@maiawards.org.