An intergenerational game

Scottish Dementia Alumni (Scotland)

The group wanted to develop an interactive game for children aged between eight and ten to educate them about dementia. Raising awareness of dementia amongst children is a priority for Scottish Dementia Alumni “so that everybody grows up knowing about dementia” (James McKillop). The group worked with Science Ceilidh in order to overcome group concerns about how challenging it might be to work in schools.

The project started with a framework for the game from Agnes, a group member. Children would move forward in steps for ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers, with printable stepping stones, reaching a ‘home’ point. Game questions were developed by talking about what they needed children to know and their expertise. The game was tested out, by the group, with children in schools.

They noticed that the children changed their behaviour during the course of the game, as they learned about dementia. At first they ran quickly to the answer points, not taking much time to think. But as the game progressed, they took much more time to re-read the possible answers and discuss between themselves which answer was best.

The game and accompanying resources are available here. The group intend to develop the game further.