Suggested Grade Level - 6th - 8th Grades

Taking middle grades students into the world of business, JA Finance Park lets participants see, touch, and experience free enterprise on their own terms. Students create personal budgets and are introduced to the banking, clothing, education, entertainment, food, healthcare, home improvement, housing, investing, and transportation industries. Most important of all, the hands-on nature of JA Finance Park helps students develop a realistic understanding of the economic issues they'll face upon graduation.

Junior Achievement is currently building a Finance Park on the campus of Frost Middle School in Fairfax, VA.

Concepts – Banking, Budgets, Buying, Careers, Choices, Consumers, Credit, Debt, Exchange, Expenses, Income, Interest rates, Investments, Money, Opportunity costs, Saving, Scarcity, Social security, Taxes

Skills – Analysis, Applying information, Budgeting, Cause and effect, Critical thinking, Computation, Data collection, Decision-making, Filling out forms, Following directions, Graphing, Interpersonal communication, Interpreting data, Listening, Negotiation, Observation, Planning, Problem-solving, Reading, Research, Role-playing, Spending, Taking responsibility, Teamwork

All JA programs are designed to support the skills and competencies identified by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. These programs also augment school-based, work-based, and connecting activities for communities with school-to-work initiatives.

Additional information on the program can be found on JA Worldwide's website. A video of the mobile Finance Park is also available for viewing.