- Trexler Middle School students took part in a game show to expose students to financial literacy
- The "Who Wants to be a Bazillionare" presentation took concepts from the American Public Media podcast "Million Bazillion"
- The event was part of a 60-stop tour throughout the United States
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A finance-filled game show popped up in Trexler Middle School on Monday with the hopes that students could walk away with new knowledge about personal finance.
Setting up a large pop-up stage in the school's gymnasium, hosts from the podcast "Million Bazillion" engaged students as part of a game show meant to expose them to knowledge and practices that can help with basic financial literacy.
"It's a really fun interactive way to bring financial literacy education to students here in Allentown.""Million Bazillion" host Kane Prestenback
"It's a really fun interactive way to bring financial literacy education to students here in Allentown," host Kane Prestenback said.
"They get to learn by watching their friends compete in the games, or competing themselves in the games to get to learn firsthand some of the basics about financial literacy and how to how to utilize their money."
The team from the show "Million Bazillion" led students in team games and trivia that explained concepts such as risk vs. reward when it comes to finances using the fake game currency, then connecting it to concepts of risk tolerance and investments.
Two teams of two middle school students each competed in "Who Wants to be a Bazillionare," in which they sought to get the most "bazucks" — with the option to risk more for potential greater reward.
They also touched on definitions of topics the middle schoolers might not fully grasp yet, such as capital as it relates to finance and what ATM stands for.
Concepts in game form
One game illustrated the concept of inflation by having the competitors guess prices were current, past or future of various objects such as a box of cereal or sneakers.
It showed how some costs increased while others, such as some tech, had lessened over time because of changes in production.
The middle school got to view the game show in separate presentations, at 10 a.m. and 12 p.m., to accommodate all the school's students.
At the first event of the day, Yellow team Gefiec Drummond and Zayvian Tran won over the blue team of Alvin Phung and Emmanuel Larrama.
Seventh-grader Larrama agreed with the goals of the presentation, saying it was a good opportunity for the students to both enjoy themselves and learn.
"It was really fun to say part of the show," he said. "If I could do it again, I would."
"I picked up like - I didn't know what ATM stands for, now I found out."
A plinko-like game was played with the winners' bazucks for a grand prize of either access to a pizza party for the students' homeroom, their ad-free podcast subscription or a whipped cream "pie" going into the face of a school faculty member.
While the prize won was the subscription, the presenters said they had "already made" the pie, and treated the crowd of cheering students to seventh-grade science teacher Elie Nassar being made messy with it by one of the students.
Stop on a national tour
"Million Bazillion" is a podcast by American Public Media, which distributes and produces many public radio programs in the United States, such as "Marketplace," "The Daily" and BBC News World Service.
It delves into topics of money and personal finance aimed to be accessible for kids.
The game show is engaging on a tour of 60 schools throughout the country continuing to next spring, and now is in its ninth week.
Starting in Kansas City, the tour on its fall leg has stops in schools near Philadelphia, New York City, Baton Rouge, Atlanta, Washington, D.C. and Charlotte, North Carolina, among other locations.
American Public Media cites the lack of personal finance education as graduation requirements and low average scores on national financial literacy tests as a reason to expose kids to the presentation topics.
"This will be new to a lot of kids. We don't focus specifically on finance, but it's a really good opportunity for them to hear a little bit about it.Conchetta Marucci, an eighth-grade English teacher at Trexler Middle School
Conchetta Marucci, an eighth-grade English teacher at the school, said the event first reached out to the school as a potential tour stop and thought it would be beneficial, given that the school does not have a financial literacy class.
"This will be new to a lot of kids," Marucci said. "We don't focus specifically on finance, but it's a really good opportunity for them to hear a little bit about it.
"And then know that a podcast exists geared toward them that they could go and listen to and possibly become more educated on the topic on their own."
