MN Historical Society working on app for people with memory loss

If you've cared for a person with dementia, you know how difficult it can be to talk to someone with a fading memory. What do you talk about when that person can't remember who you are? Or who they are?

With a $205,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Minnesota Historical Society will begin work on a new mobile app to spark conversations between people with memory loss and their caretakers and loved ones.

The app will display pictures of objects from the historical society's own collection along with open ended questions to get users to talk about what they see and feel and remember. It will also be paired with free training for caregivers and museum activities that are aimed at promoting engagement, rather than conveying information.

"It's a real change for museums that are used to ... teaching content," said Maren Levad, who's leading the initiative at the historical society.

Levad says it helps people with dementia and Alzheimer's connect with their loved ones and caregivers even after their grasp of language and memory deteriorate.

"My grandparents talked to me only about me ... I was pretty egocentric in the relationship. And then when they lost the ability to understand or care about how I was doing in soccer or how my schoolwork was going, I really lost the ability to connect with them," Levad said.

The project is based on a program called "House of Memories," which started at the National Museums Liverpool. The historical society is the first museum outside the UK to adapt the program. The Minnesota Historical Society will act as the headquarters for the program in the United States and hopes to bring it to other regions in the future.

The historical society says they hope to roll out the program next fall.

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