Junior Achievement's New Finance Park

Adding decimals. Multiplying fractions. Calculating averages. Seventh grade teacher Kendra Ritter hears the same question from her students over and over again:

"When am I ever going to use this in the real world?"

Her answer never changes: "You will use it every single day." Of course, the kids never believe her.

Not, at least, until they had a chance to experience the mind-bending math that comes with balancing a family budget, calculating the cost of childcare, computing payments on a mortgage and figuring out if they can afford to live in that cute East Nashville condo or if they have to get an apartment in a nearby county.

They can do all that at Junior Achievement's new Finance Park, opening on Tuesday in an 8,000-square-foot facility funded by a $1.75 million capital campaign.

Featuring colorful storefronts, career exploration kiosks, and an entertainment center, Nashville's Finance Park gives middle and high school students across the state a chance to make real-world financial decisions in a daylong game of life.

It is one of only a dozen or so facilities like it in the country.

Read the entire story here.