I Tried Balancing Inflation Against Interest Rates (but failed) - The Bank of England Museum (Bank of England Museum)

Member Name: foreveramber

Product:	Bank of England Museum
Date:	24/04/09 (138 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Admission free, huge collection of banknotes

Disadvantages: Not suitable for young children

Despite living in London with its rich variety of museums, I am appallingly unacquainted with most of them. It's just that I know they'll always be there and I promise that one day I will visit. And, as my children are taken on regular trips to many of the museums with their school, I feel even less incentive to pay a visit.

However, during the Easter holidays, which seem to go on forever, even more so as my husband was also on holiday, I needed a good excuse to prise everyone away from their computer games. I'd checked online for free Easter events, free being the operative word, and the Bank of England Museum popped up as one such event.

Although the Bank of England Museum is open year round, over Easter they were holding special childrens activities, including an Easter egg hunt. I never even realised the Bank of England had a museum until now and must admit, I was looking forward to it.

~~~Location~~~

It's very simple to find, for most people. The closest underground station is Bank which is on the Central, Northern, Waterloo & City lines and the Docklands Light Railway. It can also easily be reached by bus routes 8, 11, 23, 25, 26, 47, 48, 133, 141, 149 and 242 which all stop in Threadneedle Street. Main line stations close by are Liverpool Street, Fenchurch Street and Cannon Street (weekdays only).

After packing up the kids and husband, we set off for the tube and half an hour later all piled out at Bank station. Straight away I headed up the steps towards some tall pillars. Hubby wasn't so sure it was the right place. As I approached the top of the stairs I saw the building was called the Royal Exchange, inside which they offered luxury shopping and dining. How could I have been so stupid. All these years I thought the Royal Exchange building was the Bank of England. The Bank of England was actually just opposite in Threadneedle Street although you have to walk around the corner to find the entrance in Bartholomew Lane.

~~~Inside the Bank~~~

As we arrived at the door I noticed a large sign on the window displaying the energy efficiency of the building. I thought it was very honest of them to show that the building's energy efficiency was the worst it could possibly be. Must be to do with the age of the building. They just didn't care about such things in those days. Actually, although the building was originally built on its present position in 1734, it was rebuilt after the first world war and completed just before the second world war.

As we entered inside we had to take off our bags which were scanned by an airport style conveyor belt machine, then we all had to walk through a scanner door frame. Only my son beeped, which was due to his ipod hidden in his pocket. At the reception desk a friendly lady spoke to each of my three children in turn and gave them an age appropriate quiz pack. This included questions and hints on objects they had to find throughout the bank. If they ticked them all off, they would be presented with an Easter egg. Well, it turned out to be a Creme egg, but no one was complaining.
The adults were given a pamphlet which included information about the various artefacts on display as well as a useful numbered diagram indicating where each piece of information could be found within the bank.

The museum itself was officially opened by HM The Queen in November 1988. Inside is probably everything you ever wanted to know about the history of the bank which dates back to its foundation by Royal Charter in 1694.

There are hundreds of fascinating examples of early bank notes, some of which date back to handwritten receipts from the late 17th century. One of particular interest to me was a note promising to pay the bearer a sum of money which was hand written by King Charles the 2nd. It was also interesting to read that there was a large resistance against the introduction of bank notes because so much of the population at that time (17th century) weren't able to read!

There are several copies of ancient bookeeping ledgers containing the names and salaries of staff who worked at the bank during the 17th and 18th centuries.

There are a few interactive things to do which the kids enjoyed. One of these is a safe that you are invited to try and open. They provide 3 questions and a selection of answers. You choose the answers, each of which corresponds to a number. You then turn the dial let and right according to the numbers you chose and if you are right, the safe will open and you get a prize. Needless to say, none of us succeeded.

Also popular was a gold bar. This is encased inside a specially enforced glass case with a hole which is large enough to fit an adults hand. They invite you to try and lift the bar up with one hand. I thought this would be a piece of cake but actually didn't manage it the first time. My 9 year old didn't either but 12 year old son had to prove his strength and managed. It weighs 13kg and is the equivalent to something in the region of £265,000. Just what I need to pay off my mortgage.

Another interactive activity to try out and again, one I couldn't manage, was the inflation balancing bar. This contained a large ball bearing which rolls along inside a tube with inflation at one end and interest rates at the other. Your task is to balance inflation and interest rates at 2%, a point about half way. Let me tell you, I didn't see anyone achieve this. It looked easy but was an impossible feat. Maybe I have a bit ore sympathy for the government now.

There is also an interactive video which we didn't have time to try out. This explains the role of the bank today and tests users knowledge of banking and money. There's also a short film and interactive exhibit about the history of inflation, including the causes and how it affects the economy.

Overall, the Bank offers a fascinating look at the history of our banking system. Unfortunately, we had to leave a bit before we were ready as it was closing time and the staff were making pointed remarks about them closing shortly. Actually, we were still trying to crack the safe code and I think we were nearly there.

The older children really enjoyed searching out the points of interest on their quiz but the youngest (5) found it a bit boring after a while and became quite vocal. So it's probably best for children over the age of 5.

There is a small gift shop situated just by the entrance but we didn't have time to look in there. Overall, we spent just over an hour browsing around but probably would have needed another half an hour to 45 minutes for a more in-depth browse.

I've decided I'd like to go back again, sans children, just to spend more time reading some of the fascinating information that's on display.

A very worthwhile museum visit for most of the family at no cost apart from travel.

~~~Further Information~~~

Mon - Fri, 10.00 - 17.00
Last entry at 4.45pm
Christmas Eve: 10:00am - 1:00pm
Admission FREE
Closed weekends,
Public and Bank Holidays

Bank of England Museum
Threadneedle Street
London
EC2R 8AH
+44 (0)20 7601 5545

Email: museum@bankofengland.co.uk
Web: www.bankofengland.co.uk/museum

Summary: An fascinating insight into the history of the Bank of England