During our winter break trip, we flew into Memphis and then drove to Arkansas.
While we’ve been to Tennessee a couple of times before, this was a good opportunity to also check out a state none of us had been to before.
When we visit a new state, we try to visit the state capitol building. You can usually wander around and do a little self-guided tour. However, the Arkansas Capitol Building offered something pretty unique to visitors.
Visitors are allowed to visit the Treasurer’s Office and get a tour of the vault. The highlight of this visit is the opportunity to hold a half a million dollars! 
We made it just in time for a visit…
As we were entering the Treasurer’s Office, the nice lady above was about to go to lunch. She was kind enough to ask us if we wanted to see the vault and brought us in for a look.
We were told that the outer door weighed over 20,000 pounds, around the weight of two elephants!
Then we looked inside to see lots of cash sitting on a shelf inside.
Now the real fun would begin and I had to go first!
While holding the money, I was surprised by just how small half a million dollars was. The stack of money wasn’t light though, weighing around 16 pounds!
I thought about trying to make a run for it but I doubt that I would’ve gotten very far…
Lucas was next. He had no problem holding the pile of cash and got a good laugh out of it while doing so.
(While having fun with the cash, the lady giving the treasury vault tour also took photos of us which we were able to access online.)
We had to get a family photo…
Before leaving, we took a closer look inside the vault. We were told that in total, there was a little over $1 million inside!
Final Thoughts:
While it would’ve been even more fun if we got some money to take with us, the Arkansas Capitol Building is a must-visit if you are in Little Rock!
The building was really fun to see but the clear highlight was the Treasury! Where else can you get to hold half a million dollars?!
Find out the details about visiting the Arkansas Capitol Building here.
DaninMCI- LOL, It was a lot of fun. There’s also guided and self-guided tours of the building itself. We did a self-guided wander.
Angela- Can’t you only see the Old State House from the outside? I’m curious about the Territorial Museum. Is that the Historic Arkansas Museum? If so, we drove and went for a run past it.
You should have went to the Old State House and the Territorial Museum!
I was going to make a Hillary Clinton Whitewater Investment joke but your trip to the Capital does look interesting. I’ve been to the area many times but didn’t know you could tour the treasurer’s office. Next up is the mobile home in the sky, I’d think…