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Congratulations to the 2023 Excellence in Memory Care Award Winner...

See Me at the Smithsonian!

Left to Right - Anita Irvin, Executive Director at Insight Memory Care Center, Amy Castine, Lead Educator for See Me at the Smithsonian, and Aimee Cho, event emcee

Insight Memory Care Center’s Excellence in Memory Care Award recognizes programs and services that are models of excellence and are positively impacting memory care in our community. Congratulations to our 2024 winner, See Me at the Smithsonian!

See Me at the Smithsonian (See Me) is a museum-based program designed to provide social interaction and cognitive stimulation for people living with dementia and their care partners. Through close looking at art, historical, and scientific objects, we encourage our participants to discuss what details they notice and then make meaning based on their reactions to those objects and ideas. See Me at the Smithsonian is managed by Access Smithsonian, the central office of accessibility services for all 21 Smithsonian museums and national zoo. From October 2017 until March 2020, we offered programs in our museum galleries. We shifted to virtual programs in May 2020 and continue to offer programs twice per month and by reservation for groups. In 2023, we expanded to include outreach programs onsite with our community partners. Each one-hour program includes looking at 2-3 museum objects in a relaxed manner that follows the ideas that our participants find interesting and inspiring. We often include multisensory experiences during programs, including artmaking, poetry writing, storytelling, dance & movement, and listening to music.

The See Me team has been trained in the best practices for working with people with dementia and their care partners, and we aim to offer the highest quality of service. By employing the best practices like slowing down and really listening to our participants, we create a safe environment for them to interact with the facilitators, their peers, and their care partners. The feeling of safety that our participants feel allows them to engage in the way that is best for them as they explore connections around the objects and their life experiences. We are always striving to further expand our audience by diversifying our participants and provide programs that are representative of our audience. We meet people where they are, honor their lived experiences, and provide opportunities to create meaningful moments with loved ones.

The See Me program is a unique way for community day programs, social clubs and folks living at home to engage socially and enjoy a museum experience. Research has shown that dementia-friendly museum programs like See Me can reduce isolation for both the individuals living with dementia and their care partners, as well as reducing caregiver burden. Additionally, normalizing programs like See Me is a great way to help mitigate social stigma around issues of memory loss and dementia. Our team is dedicated to bringing high quality museum programs to our participants to encourage them to engage with art and objects and, ultimately, with the world around them.

Learn more about See Me at the Smithsonian.