New London — About 250 students got a chance Thursday to experience Money Madness, but perhaps none could explain the overall message as succinctly as Evan Jones, a junior at Wheeler High School in North Stonington.

"Pinch your pennies," he said.

This is the 10th year Chelsea Groton Bank has sponsored Money Madness, a chance for local high school students to get a taste of real-life money decisions. Students came from Fitch, Stonington, Montville, Waterford and Wheeler high schools as well as from the Marine Science Magnet High School, Ella T. Grasso Technical High School and Norwich Free Academy.

The day at the Crozier Williams Student Center at Connecticut College started with an inspirational speech by Kevin L. Booker Jr., a local parent educator, and included a series of break-out sessions that had students hearing about financial pitfalls, banking, borrowing and saving.

In the exhibit hall, students could find out about insurance, buying a car and healthy eating, or they could play games involving gambling awareness, financial terminology and student loans.

Kathleen Titsworth, outreach coordinator for the state Department of Banking, ran a financial bingo seminar in which she spoke about how scammers work. She mentioned one of the first Internet scams, involving a supposed Nigerian prince who stood ready to deposit a large amount of money into individuals' bank accounts if only they would send a few thousand dollars for a plane ticket.

"It's ridiculous, but you know why it's still out there?" she asked. "Because people fall for it. You've got to be on guard."

Students said they enjoyed the wide range of information available during the financial-literacy event. And teachers said they liked that the information was presented in a realistic, fun way.

"It's the next step of life," said Arianna Turello, a Waterford High School senior. "I really liked this, learning about retirement funds and stocks."

"The kids keep moving so they stay interested," said Art Howe, a business teacher at Stonington High School who has taken seniors to Money Madness events over the past decade.

Alyson Woznicki, a business teacher at Waterford High School, said she gives priority to business students but also encourages others to attend as well.

"They do get a great overview," she said. "Everybody gets something different."

The event also included Rich Egner of Delta Defense & Training talking about self defense. Egner had to fill in as well at the end of the day when keynote speaker Aundre Baumgardner, a Republican state representative from Groton, at the last minute had to cancel his appearance to attend a Finance Committee vote in Hartford.

A former prison guard, Egner gave an impromptu speech about making the most of opportunities.

"It all comes down to decision making," he said. "Each and every one of you has a chance to do amazing things."

l.howard@theday.com