Museum of Liverpool to celebrate House of Memories’ 10th anniversary with special takeover

Museum of Liverpool’s Story Tent is being given a special makeover for World Alzheimer’s Day (21 September) to coincide with House of Memories’ 10th anniversary.

The takeover, which will run until Sunday 13 November, is part of House of Memories’ award-winning programme to help people living with dementia, their families, friends and carers.

Usually reserved for storytelling sessions for younger visitors, the Story Tent on the first floor will be transformed into a living room from days gone by to help people living with dementia rekindle cherished memories.

Visitors will be able to settle into cosy armchairs to watch a new film on a vintage-style television set which looks back on a decade of House of Memories and can add drawings or words that help trigger memories to a special memory tree.

Credit: National Museums Liverpool

The tent takeover also offers visitors an opportunity to delve into a decade of House of Memories from its humble beginnings in Liverpool to the launch of the first foreign-language version of its My House of Memories app in Singapore and the first co-produced version with the Yemeni community in Liverpool.

If you are a child of the 1960s, be sure to visit Museum of Liverpool on Saturday 1 October for Up Close with the 1960s for a chance to reminisce with real and replica items from the 60s including clothes, household items and toys and games such as Spirograph, Fuzzy Felt and Etch-a Sketch.

You can also take a trip down memory lane, well from Dingle to Seaforth: the Overhead Railway actually. Join ticket inspector Billy Alexander, on Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 October for a pictorial performance looking at the history and the stories of the first overhead railway in the world.

Director of House of Memories, Carol Rogers MBE said:

“While people living with dementia often struggle holding on to short-term memories, retro-styling, object handling and memory trees are all useful reminiscence tools to help people access long-term memories. They can be used to start conversations with their families and carers, making them feel important and valued boosting their sense of belonging.

Credit: National Museums Liverpool

“We are all part of a rich history that needs to be shared and preserved. The stories we tell about our lives are important sources of self-identity and enable us to explore and relate our past to the present. Older people often lose what has defined them, be it their spouses, careers or homes, so they need to remember who they were to help define who they are today.”

Since its inception in 2021, House of Memories has engaged with over 100,000 people, connected digitally with more than 36,000 app users and trained over 12,500 caregivers across the UK and internationally.