Monday, August 8, 2016

Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Washington DC

Were you ever curious about how money was made? Did you ever wonder why it would be so difficult to make counterfeit money? Or perhaps you might have interest in how much money they print each day? All of these questions and more are answered on this tour. 

There are certainly a great deal of benefits to living so close to our nation's capital. One of those benefits is the ability to visit the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. With only two locations in the United states where paper currency is made (the other is Texas), this is a very cool tour that kept my 7 and 9 year old boys interested for the full 40 minute tour. As you walk through the building led by a tour guide, she takes the group through the 4 stages of how money is made. My kids were fascinated by the huge printing presses and the box showing what 1 million dollars in 10 dollar bills looks like. They also loved the friendly factory worker who made sure that even though we were at a window above the factory, he held up the sheets of money for us to see, and then behind the glass wall, he pulled out a laminated sign that he made that said "I love my job"! We all got a good chuckle from that.

In terms of acquiring tickets, there is a ticket booth on the side of the building, where you wait in line for FREE tickets. The line opens up at 8am. You wait in line and get tickets based on availability (you get to choose from the available times). The booth is only open until they are all out of tickets. We got there at 8:15am and there was already a long line. The line did move quickly, but by the time we got to the front, all of the 9:00am and 9:15am tickets were already given out. We could have chosen a time in the afternoon and went to do something else, but we chose 9:30am, and waited by the front of the building until it was our turn. Once you go inside, you are not allowed to take pictures other than in the lobby before the start of the tour, and afterwards in the small gift shop that you come out into at the end of the tour. All in all, this was an enjoyable trip that my boys will remember.

Website: http://www.moneyfactory.gov/washingtondctours.html

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