SPARK Program at the Milwaukee Public Museum

LINK

Link to September 25 Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel article, "Where history sparks memories. Museum program helps those with dementia".

Excerpt: On a recent day at the Milwaukee Public Museum, Paul Strains says a phrase he doesn't use very often any more:

"I remember now."

Strains, who has dementia, spots the 19th-century tool in an exhibit case and calls his friends over to talk about it. "My father had one of those. It's called a tack hammer. His was bigger. I used it. He was a painter. I was a painter, too. I remember now."

The tack hammer, the museum and Strains joined together to rekindle memories as part of SPARK, a new ongoing program here. The Milwaukee Public Museum is the first natural history museum in the Midwest to offer SPARK, a free cultural series for people with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia and their caregivers.