Student Builds Space‑Themed App to Teach Money Skills

A 17‑year‑old from Oakton High has turned a boring topic into a game. He created MoneyQuest, an online quiz adventure that looks like a space mission and lets players earn points while learning how to budget, save, and spend wisely. The app was launched on April 1 so it would start with Financial Literacy Month, a time when schools try to get students interested in money matters. The idea came after the teen joined a business competition and realized that most finance books feel like endless note‑taking. He wanted something more exciting, so he designed the game with a “Star Wars” opening and eight planets that each cover a key money skill. The structure is similar to the popular quiz site Kahoot! so it feels familiar and fun.Players can race against classmates on leaderboards, take short mini‑games between questions, and follow a curriculum that matches national standards set by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Council for Economic Education. By keeping everything free, he hopes every student can try it without a cost barrier. In its first week the app was used almost 70 times, and some users finished the whole course in one sitting. The creator has set up MoneyQuest as a nonprofit so it can stay free and easy to access for anyone who wants to learn about money.