Maple Grove Students Take Over City Hall at JA BizTown
Fifth graders from Weaver Lake Elementary School recently received some real-world experience.
The students took a field trip to Junior Achievement BizTown North. The hands-on learning site in St. Paul welcomes students to spend a day managing a simulated town.
The kid-size city is complete with a bank, city hall and medical research facility. Students even elect a mayor from their grade.
But this is more than just a make-believe city.
JA BizTown in St. Paul provides hands-on learning.
JA BizTown gives students the opportunity to try out a career they might have in the future.
Careers include scientist, construction worker, mail carrier and journalist.
Students also experience getting a paycheck.
They then can use the money they’ve earned from their jobs to buy trinkets like hats, sunglasses, and inflatable toys.
“They get to take home anything they purchase,” said JA BizTown Director Wendy Patzlaff. “But they do have to be savvy about budgeting their money and not over-spending.”
The students learn about other money matters like taxes and insurance in a setting that may resonate more with them than in a classroom.
JA BizTown participant from Maple Grove’s Weaver Elementary School.
“If they can touch it, see it and experience it they are going to learn it much faster than they are just watching something or hearing me talk,” said fifth-grade teacher Bryan Bjorlin.
The field trip is designed to make learning fun and give kids a glimpse into their future.
“They’ll say now I really understand what my parents mean when they say they are tired after a day of work, or they had a rough day at work,” said Patzlaff. “I think it really opens their mind to think about the world in a completely different way than they had before.”
This Junior Achievement BizTown sites serve schools from Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota.
There are other Junior Achievement BizTowns in Milwaukee and Des Moines, Iowa.
