Traveling Museum Exhibition on Money to Raise Americans' Financial Literacy IQ

CHICAGO, March 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- There's no shortage of personal finance information. More than 700 books on the subject were published in 2010 targeted to men, women, teens and children. Add specialty magazines, newspaper columns, radio and television shows, and financial literacy programs and we should all be able to channel our inner Suze Orman and David Bach. Yet, in a recent study led by Dr. Annamaria Lusardi, a preeminent authority on financial literacy at George Washington University, almost half the households in the survey reported that they could not come up with $2000 in 30 days to deal with a financial emergency. "The fact that even solidly middle class people, nearly a quarter of the households surveyed with incomes of 100 to 150,000, could not come up with that amount is quite profound," says Gail Vida Hamburg, CEO and Founder of Rainworks Omnimedia LLC.

"My company is introducing to the financial literacy canon an innovative medium of educating Americans about personal finance -- an interactive, immersive, multimedia traveling museum exhibition," said Hamburg. "Science, industry and natural history museums are where Americans go for informal learning and to understand new and unfamiliar phenomena," she said. A concept and content developer who has interpreted neuroscience, cardiology, aging, and vitality for museum exhibitions, Hamburg plans to present personal finance through multiple viewing lenses in Economia: Money Matters. "Visitors will learn about personal finance by journeying through Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs with financial self-actualization as the goal," she said. "We will also weave deep metaphors that drive all human behavior into the design of the exhibition, including balance, control, and transformation," she said.  

In addition to collaborating with thought leaders in the field of financial literacy, Rainworks has chosen Snibbe Interactive of San Francisco as its design partner for interactive displays in the exhibit. "Snibbe's multimedia installations are key features in Economia that will deconstruct the complexities of personal finance," said Hamburg. Scott Snibbe, a computer scientist, media artist, filmmaker and social interactivity researcher, has created iconic, mesmerizing displays for Los Angeles International Airport, the Olympics in Shanghai, and for museums around the world. "For Economia, we are thrilled to infuse the sometimes scary topic of finance with highly engaging social interactivity that promotes healthy life-long habits for leveraging the power of compounding, spending, college planning, retirement, and even explain how our stock market works," Snibbe said.

Economia: Money Matters, an 8000-sq-ft immersive, interactive, multimedia exhibition that is projected to cost $4 million, plans to begin touring the North American museum circuit in Fall 2011 after a California debut.

Financial literacy advocates, government agencies, and corporate sponsors interested in alliances, partnerships, and sponsorships, please contact Kyra Hendricks at [email protected]

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SOURCE Rainworks Omnimedia LLC