Money

The pieces of paper and metal that we use to buy movie tickets or groceries represent an important development in human history. Money not only is easier to store than the cattle or sheep used thousands of years ago, but it also facilitates trade by not requiring that people have some goods or services to offer in exchange. Learn about the history of money as well as how to invest and manage money through these direct links at the Launch Point site: https://www.latimes.com/launchpoint.

Here are the best sites for getting your schoolwork done or for just having fun.

Level 1

KidsBank.Com: Learn about the history of money as well as what a check is and why banks pay interest. Test your knowledge with several fun quizzes, try out the special calculators or ask Mr. Money a question.

https://www.kidsbank.com/

Welcome to Econopolis! Learn how such concepts as free enterprise, competition and market economy can affect prices at lemonade stands through this student project that teaches you about money, business and economics.

https://tqjunior.thinkquest.org/3901/

H.I.P. Pocket Change: Learn about the history of different coins and find out how coins are made.

https://www.usmint.gov/kids/index.html

Level 2

CIBC Smart Start: Learn about budgets and banking, spending and saving by playing interactive games.

https://www.cibc.com/smartstart/teen/

Nova Online: Secrets of Making Money: Bartering was the first method of exchanging goods for services, and even today it is acceptable and sometimes preferable. Learn about the anatomy of a bill, how to identify counterfeit currency and the history of money from cattle and beads to paper and digital cash.

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/moolah/

U.S. Mint: The U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power to coin money, and on April 2, 1792, the U.S. Mint was created in Philadelphia. Learn about the history of U.S. currency, view animations that show how coins are made and learn about the latest coins, including the golden $1 coin that features Sacagawea, Lewis and Clark’s Indian guide.

https://www.usmint.gov/

Level 3

Investing for Kids: Learn about stocks, bonds, mutual funds and more through this site created by successful young investors. Try a stock portfolio game, use a goal calculator to check investment options and access numerous resources that will help you learn to earn money through investing.

https://is099.tsc.k12.in.us/training/internt/invest/index.htm

A Comparative Chronology of Money: Trace the development of money beginning with the trading of cattle and the birth of banking in Mesopotamia between 3,000 and 2,000 B.C. to the evolution of the Euro, a single currency that replaced the coinages and bank notes of several European countries.

https://www.ex.ac.uk/~RDavies/arian/amser/chrono1.html

Universal Currency Converter: Find out how a U.S. dollar compares with a Euro, a German deutsche mark, an Italian lira or a Greek drachma through this online foreign currency converter.

https://www.xe.net/ucc/

Launch Point is produced by the UC Irvine department of education, which reviews each site for appropriateness and quality. Even so, parents should supervise their children’s use of the Internet. This column was designed by Knowah Anderson, Ta-Cheng Paul Lee, Shirley Prasad and Anna Manring.

EXPLORER’S QUEST

The answer to this Internet quiz can be found in the sites at right.

Explorer’s Quest

What is the most widely and longest used currency in history?

CLUE: See Nova Online: Secrets of Making Money

Find What You Need to Know: Have a project on California history? Need help doing a math problem? Launch Point now covers more than 100 topics for getting your schoolwork done. Go to https://www.latimes.com/launchpoint/ for the full list of subjects and direct links to the best Internet sites.

Answer to Last Week’s Quest: The Pinkerellians thought the best invention was Daisy, who was one “machine” that did everything (but who actually was a kitchen maid).