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Monday, August 9, 2010

Like money in the bank

As promised (and at the risk of sounding like a travelogue and boring you all to tears), here’s another idea for a free and air-conditioned family outing: the Bank of Israel.

The state-of-the-art visitors center focuses on the history of money in general and Israel’s currency in particular and also discusses the Bank of Israel’s various and assorted functions.

In addition to a number of display cases, the tour includes two (count ‘em!) movies, and the knowledgeable tour guide has a wealth (pun intended) of fascinating information to share.

IMG_1710 One of the display cases

IMG_1705Interactive computer games – undoubtedly, the most popular part of the tour

IMG_1777 At the end of the tour, each participant receives a little bag with 3000 NIS-worth of shredded bills.

One final note: As I’ve noted elsewhere, YZG and I are always on the lookout for new and creative ways to raise the KQ (the kvetching quotient), because we do so enjoy adolescent grumbling. </sarcasm>

And thus we were naturally quite pleased when the KQ soared in the day or two preceding the outing.

However, our gratification was premature, because on the way home, certain teenagers of our acquaintance were heard admitting that overall, the tour was fairly “interesting” and “much better” than expected…

smile_teeth

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Hat tip: Toby who recommended this tour in the comment section to my post about a different bank

8 comments:

  1. Oh, I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the hat tip, now I feel famous :)

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  2. You almost had me planning a visit, until you showed the "parting gift." Thanks, but no thanks! I can just imagine that bag bursting the minute we get into the house. Between the dog and Hyper-Boy, I don't even want to think about it!

    Have you been to the Bloomfield Science Museum yet this summer? They have a great "underwater" sound and light show, and the 4 hours we spent there went by too quickly.

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  3. Toby - Yes, nothing says "you are now a celebrity" like being mentioned on the Our Shiputzim blog... :-)

    Miriyummy - Thanks for the museum suggestion, and LOL about the bags! In fact, some of them started leaking even before we got back to the car... :-)

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  4. I have never visited a bank and yet it is a plce I go to several times a year.
    Sounds more fascinating than one might imagine.

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  5. Ilana-Davita - Yes, it was extremely interesting, and I learned a lot. But for the record, I should perhaps explain that the Bank of Israel isn't a commercial bank. Rather, it's Israel's central bank - similar to the European Central Bank or the US Federal Reserve.

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  6. Ilana-Davita - Yes, it was extremely interesting, and I learned a lot. But for the record, I should perhaps explain that the Bank of Israel isn't a commercial bank. Rather, it's Israel's central bank - similar to the European Central Bank or the US Federal Reserve.

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  7. Could I ask to get my bills unshredded?

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  8. Ilana-Davita - Ilana-Davita - Yes, it was extremely interesting, and I learned a lot. But for the record, I should perhaps explain that the Bank of Israel isn't a commercial bank. Rather, it's Israel's central bank - similar to the European Central Bank or the US Federal Reserve.

    Malke - YMMV, but when we were there, the tour guide was, well, surprisingly reluctant to agree to similar requests... ;-)

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