Introduction to NASDAQ Stock Exchange for Kids and Teens
This video explains the NASDAQ stock exchange in a simple, concise way for kids and beginners. It could be used by kids & teens to learn about NASDAQ, or used as a money & personal finance resource by parents and teachers as part of a Financial Literacy course or K-12 curriculum.
Suitable for students from grade levels:
- Kindergarten
- Elementary School
- Middle School
- High School
The topics covered are:
- What is NASDAQ or the NASDAQ Stock Exchange
- How is NASDAQ unique
- How does stock trading happen on NASDAQ
- When does trading happen on NASDAQ
What is NASDAQ?
NASDAQ is the 2nd largest stock exchange in the world and is focused on technology companies. It is based in New York City, and was created in 1971.
NASDAQ is an acronym for the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations.
What is special or unique about NASDAQ?

Originally, stock exchanges had traders and brokers trading on the trading floor. NASDAQ was the first stock exchange to introduce electronic trading, which has since been adopted by other stock exchanges around the world.
NASDAQ also became the first stock exchange to have its own website, and the first stock exchange to allow online trading.
Because of all these technological innovations that NASDAQ pioneered, many tech giants, like Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Comcast are listed on the NASDAQ.
How are stocks traded on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange?
Like we discussed earlier, NASDAQ introduced electronic trading to the world. Although the NASDAQ has a prominent building in Times Square, there is no physical trading floor in the exchange – all trades happen electronically.
Since trading is electronic, can I buy or sell stocks anytime?
No. You can only trade stocks in NASDAQ from Monday to Friday, between 9:30 AM and 4:00 PM. The NASDAQ is also closed for some holidays.

What are some other popular stock exchanges?
Some other popular stock exchanges are the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), London Stock Exchange (LSE), and Shanghai Stock Exchange.
We will cover each one in detail in future videos.
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Does NASDAQ also refer to a stock index?
Yes. The term NASDAQ is also used to refer to the NASDAQ Composite Stock Index. But that’s a topic for another time.
(This video / article talks about the stock exchange. Please come back for another video / article on the NASDAQ Stock Index)
Download Transcript: Ideal for Use by Teachers in their Lesson Plan to Teach Kids and Teens
