Billed as a “billion dollar experience‘, The Money Museum at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City offers free self-guided tours Monday through Fridays, excluding bank holidays.
With an out-of-town guest, we decided to check it on last Monday.
Since the The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City is home to one of the region’s largest automated cash vaults in the area, security is taken seriously. Upon entering the Federal Reserve building at 1 Memorial Drive, you are advised that you be going through security screening and will need to produce a government-issued ID if you are 18 years or older.
After you past through a security screening machine and having your ID reviewed, you are given a tour badge to wear during your tour.
We were surprised to learn the tour is entirely self-guided, although groups of 12 or more can arrange a guided tour with several weeks advance notice. The museum has a number of interactive exhibits designed to explain how the Fed works, and how money is moved through the banking system and the economy. Behind the glass walls at the back of the hallway (pictured above) is a fascinating view of money being sorted and cleaned, and also the automated vault where millions of dollars of cash are stored.
The Money Museum offers a self-guided audio tour that you can access by calling a local number on your cell phone, or taking a photo of the associated QR code.
One of the more interesting exhibits is the Truman Coin Collection which showcases coins produced by the U.S. Mint during each presidential administration. Loaned to the Money Museum by The Harry S. Truman Library in Independence, Missouri, this exhibit also recalls that in 1953, following his second term as president of the United States, Truman leased office space on the eleventh floor of the Federal Reserve Bank’s previous headquarters at 925 Grand in downtown Kansas City. Truman used the office space until the Harry S. Truman Library opened in July 1957.
Displays in the Money Museum also explain how the Federal Reserve works to ensure economic stability for the United States. The Federal Reserve System was created in 1913 and there are 12 total Federal Reserve Banks in the U.S., each covering a different geography.
It’s interesting that the Missouri is the only state to have two Federal Reserve Banks located within its borders – one in Kansas City and another in St. Louis.
The Money Museum provides numerous “fun facts” throughout the exhibits. For example, while the $100 bill has an average life span of 7.4 years, the typical $5 bill only stays in circulation an average of 1.33 years.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City receives, cleans and sorts cash daily. Bills that are counterfeit are removed from circulation and turned over the the FBI.
Bills that are worn beyond their useful life as removed from circulation and shredded.
One of our favorite things about the visit is the free souvenir given to each visitor: a bag of shredded currency that is no longer fit for circulation. Each bag is estimated to contain approximately $165 of shredded money.
Have you visited The Money Museum at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City? What was your favorite take-away?
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