I have visited the mint in DC and the one in Fort Worth. I found the Fort Worth Mint very nice and very interesting. To learn about our currency and stamps was very interesting. Lots lots of history but it wasn't dry. Kids loved our tour and seeing our bills being made first hand. They have a great gift shop with lots of interesting currency available for purchase. One of a kind items !
How did I live in the DFW area for 20 years before discovering this place? Took my nieces and nephews here when they were in town. Definitely a field-trip destination- very educational and informative. Be sure to check on their website http://www.moneyfactory.gov/tours/fortworthtxtours.html for up to date info before you visit. Their are rules about what you can and cannot bring. The tour was very well organized and held our attention. The only food available is from a vending machine.
If you want to learn and see how our paper money is made then vist this place. We took a self guide tour and was able take our time and really able to see everything. It was very interesting and I learned alot. The admission price is free. If you go leave your camera, cell phones, and everthing else at home. You will be going thru a metal dector. They have a gift shop where some of the items are over priced. But over all it an enjoyable way to share part of the afternoon,
I had been to 3 of the 5 US mints before touring the Fort Worth facility and it did not let me down. This was an excellent visit. You enter the area thru a security checkpoint that only took us a couple of minutes because I had read online what to bring and what not to bring. The check point is no different from the airports. Just be smart and do what your supposed to do to enter a government facility. After the checkpoint, we board the bus to take us to the front door of the main building. Once inside the young lady gave us about a one minute information talk and let us tour the facility on our own. The first floor has some great informiton on US currency. You go upstairs to get the real expericnce however. You get a "cell phone type" device for a self guided tour of the printing plant while you walk in an enclosed catwalk above the machines. They have numbers on the walls and you type that number into your device and listen. The devices were great and very easy to operate and were well done and easy to understand. I was amazed at how friendly everyone was that was working on the floor. At 3 different viewing areas, an employee showed us what they were doing when talking to us thru the glass. You can not hear everything but you can understand enough what the employee is trying to tell you. You learn the entire process of how the US makes paper money. There was money everywhere, in various states of production. I was amazed at how much money was being printed. We toured the facility during the Christmas break when school was out. There were NO school tours going on and that made it really nice. I am not sure just how I would have enjoyed it, if there had been a bunch of screaming school kids running around. Even as old as I am, I learned a lot. This is a great experience and I will definitely go back and do it again. You really need to allow 3-4 hours if you really want to read and view everything. The website says you can do it in less time but we really read a lot of things and watched the printing presses.
I learned so much about the making of money - the currency - not the idea - and thought about many things that I had never considered before - Like how do you keep all that money from being stolen??? The audio guide was good - but would have been better if there had been an indication of where you should look when it described the process.
Kids get to design and print their own money three weeks out of the year. Lots of stuff to read, fun facts about money. The self guided tour is very informative.
The tour and info is first rate. The tour covers the entire process, and the exhibits really include a lot of information about everything related to our currency. We really enjoyed it.
We happened to be there when the lady was piecing together damaged dollars. By the way, a million dollars worth of 20 dollar bills is a big stack. This self guided tour is great for kids. We took grandkids and they loved it, course they kept asking for samples.
We're a homeschool family with two teenage boys. Recently we found ourselves in Fort Worth and decided to spend one afternoon at this federal facility, one of only two that prints U.S. paper currency. Be sure to leave your cell phone and camera in the car before heading to security. We were met by friendly security personnel, then boarded a bus to the main facility. Be sure to watch the short movie, which gives an overview of the engraving & printing process prior to taking the audio-guided tour. Our boys were enthralled watching the operators and the various machinery from the large plate glass windows. Many of the employees waved and smiled when they saw us watching. It must be tough knowing that your every move is being watched. The audio gave good thorough explanations of the process and provided interesting snippets of trivia along the way. Be sure to check out the interactive displays on both floors to learn more about the process. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit and spent no more than two hours at the facility.
worth a visit here. Kids had a blast and I always learn something new. (they still wont tell me how they get the money out). a good way to spend 3-4 hours on a summer afternoon