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Supported by HSBC UK

It is a money old world

Learn about the history (and geography) of money, then choose a creative way to show how it’s changed over the years.

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You’ll need

  • Station cards

Before you begin

  • Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. There’s also more guidance to help you carry out your risk assessment, including examples.
  • Make sure all young people and adults involved in the activity know how to take part safely.
  • Make sure you’ll have enough adult helpers. You may need some parents and carers to help.

Planning and setting up this activity

  • Set up 5 stations around the meeting space. Each station will need an adult or young leader. 
  • Print and cut out the station cards ahead of time. Each station will need 1 card. There are support prompts in the activity for the adults at each station. 

Aim of the activity

This activity helps everyone learn how money has changed through time and in different countries. It’ll help the group think about the role that money has played in different societies, and what it represents today. 

Running this activity 

  1. Explain that this time travelling activity helps everyone learn how money has changed through time and in different countries. It’ll help the group think about the role that money has played in different societies, how it’s changed and what it represents today.
  2. Explain that they are going to have to use their imagination in this session and pretend.
  3. Get the young people to put on their time travelling hats and tell them they are going to go on an adventure back through time… Are they ready?
  4. The person running the activity will split everyone into small groups (up to a maximum of 5 groups - 1 per station). There should be at least one adult or young leader at each station. 
  5. The young people spin around (carefully) and make their way to their first station, travelling back through time. When they get to the station, the adult should read the information card to the group, explaining more about money in that time period. 
  6. After the card has been read, follow the adult support suggestions, which are different depending on which station you are at. 

Adult support for each station

Young people have a go at bartering with each other; role-play swapping toy sheep for apples, shells for bread, etc. They have to convince a friend why it’s worth taking their item as part of the swap. The adult at this station should get involved with questions like, was this fair? What if no one wants your sheep?

Young people have a go matching the pebbles to the items. Create a discussion around how many pebbles is each item worth? Why? Could we alter the number of pebbles to show some items are more important than others? Could this vary person to person? 

Young people have a go at recognising different notes and where they think they might have come from. How old are they? 

Young people look at the card reader and have a go putting a plastic card into it. They roleplay buying something in this way with the rest of their group. The adults should encourage conversation and discussion around why it’s easier to use cards than physical money. 

Young people have a go at tapping the picture of a phone against the reader. They roleplay buying something in this way with the rest of their group. The adult at the station should encourage conversation about what other ways people can pay with their phone now? Is this always safe? Ensure a conversation is had around asking an adult before doing buying anything on someone's phone. 

Reflection

The history (and geography) of how people have paid for things over time can tell us a lot about their societies. Can you remember all the different materials used as money? What did they represent? What do you think will happen to money next?

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

You must run your activities in line with the Safeguarding Code of Conduct for Adults (Yellow Card) and report any concerns to the UK HQ Safeguarding Team.

Make it accessible

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.

Money Skills

Talk about and design your own version of what money might look like in the future.

Take a look at more money skills activities.

The group can decide how they want to express what they’ve learned in the session.