'Change the culture of aging': What you can learn about dementia inside an Iowa simulation

• By altering sight, sound and touch, the "dementia simulation house" at the University of Northern Iowa sends people into that world with a higher purpose.
• Professor Elaine Eshbaugh wants the simulation to attract more than people who work in assisted living facilities.
• Entering the house, participants are asked to accomplish activities they would encounter in everyday life.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — Five minutes is plenty of time for those trying out what it's like to live with dementia. 

Once-familiar carpeted hallways transform into a maze with no solution. Locating a coffee cup, feather duster or book lying about the house feels cumbersome; remembering what you planned to do with those items is worse.