Description of the attraction
The Interactive Museum of Economics (MIDE) is the first ever museum dedicated entirely to economics. It was created under the auspices of the Mexican Banking Association in Mexico City.
The unique museum was opened in 2006 with financial assistance from the Bank of Mexico and some government organizations. The museum is located in the building of the ancient monastery of the Virgin Mary of Bethlehem, dating back to the 18th century. It has been considered a historical monument since 1950. Bank of Mexico acquired the building in 1990.
One of the priority tasks of the museum is to preserve the place where it is located in perfect condition. For this, the restorers constantly carry out diagnostic and architectural and artistic work. Before the restoration, the building looked like ruins. The restoration cost $ 1.6 million. The museum exposition is located on 3700 sq.m.
There are five main sections of the exposition "individual economy", "social economy", "economy and money", "government" and "welfare and development", containing more than fifty interactive exhibits, which are distributed over three floors. Visitors can simulate the market, see how money is printed, create a corporation, develop their own currencies, and enforce banking regulations. Unfortunately, only a few of the exhibits have an English description. MIDE recently added a new room called The Future of Money. This exposition presents electronic and other forms of payment.
The museum also houses an astounding collection of numismatics from the National Bank of Mexico. The collection includes the most valuable coins of the colonial era of Latin America.
