Dementia-Friendly Entertainment: Spying for Fun
Although long retired, Gary’s help was requested in solving a case of sabotage
involving material for an atomic bomb. It was clear by the look of joy on his face
that Zooming into Washington, D.C. to face this challenge was exactly what he
wanted to do. His eyes twinkled as he answered every question put to him.
This is how Gary spends one afternoon each month, listening to stories of intrigue
as part of Spy with Me, a free one-hour program offered by the International Spy
Museum for people with memory loss and their care partners.
The program is the brainchild of Shana Oltmans, manager of museum programs
and experiences, who had been working with Iona Senior Services, a D.C.-based
nonprofit, to develop programing for their community. When the pandemic hit
seniors especially hard, Oltmans realized she could reach a wider audience if she
created a virtual program. Spy with Me was first offered to the public in 2022,
using music and museum artifacts to explore favorite spy stories.
The programs, which are kept small to encourage participation, start with
introductions so people can share where they are located — participants are from
around the country.
Every month Oltmans creates a different theme, which she builds around a
PowerPoint presentation. Participants don’t need to know about the content
beforehand. For January she chose “Spies in the Snow,” starting off with Frank
Sinatra singing “Let It Snow,” to which Gary was smiling and snapping his fingers.
She incorporated snow-related artifacts that included a photo of a parahawk, the
fictional hybrid paraglider/snowmobile used in a James Bond movie to land in
snowy mountains.
She then showed a photo of a thermos and mittens and asked, “Which of these
items has a secret spy purpose?”
Gary guessed the thermos, which did indeed have a bottom that screwed off to
reveal a camera. But the mittens also had a purpose: Secret messages were sewn
into the lining.
The real-life story she was building focused on a World War II sabotage mission in
Norway. A photo of the building shows a brutal environment. “What would be the
challenge to this building,” Oltmans asked. “The mountains,” Gary said.
At the conclusion of the exciting story, Oltman played Gary’s favorite group,
the Beach Boys, singing “Frosty the Snowman,” to which Gary again smiled and
snapped his fingers.
The program is promoted as being for people with memory loss, but Oltmans
doesn’t “ask about someone’s potential condition.” Most participants have a
caregiver with them, which can be helpful for the technical portions but also to
create a shared experience. Oltmans has received wonderful feedback.
“Our goal isn’t necessarily to teach intelligence history. It’s to create fun.”
