Junior Achievement’s New Interactive “BizTown” Opens in St. Paul
Junior Achievement of the Upper Midwest built out a 47,000 SF space in a 100-year old building on University Avenue in St. Paul, MN to house its interactive learning labs. The space was redesigned and refurbished to house JA BizTown, a hands-on free-market lab where students in grades 4-6 learn what it means to be responsible business leaders, consumers, workers, and citizens by participating in a simulated economy. Students perform specific jobs within 18 different shops, each of which represents a consumer product or service. Shops are sponsored by Minnesota’s leading companies representing their industry or profession. The new building enables Junior Achievement to double the number of students it serves each year from 17,000 to 34,000. In addition to the expanded JA BizTown, the facility houses two additional experiential learning labs – JA Finance Park and a first-of-its-kind JA Innovation Incubator.
Project Details
- Project | Junior Achievement of the Upper Midwest
- Location | St. Paul, MN
- Size | 47,000 SF
- General Contractor | Mortenson
- Architect | RSP Architects
- Completion | December 2018