A specialized tour at the Berlin Zoo brings joy to people living with dementia

BERLIN (AP) — Christel Krueger peered through thick glass and murky water at the Berlin Zoo, staring in awe at a mother hippopotamus and her child sleeping on a sandbar.

Krueger, 86, and her daughter were on a specialized zoo tour last month for people who live with dementia that was organized by Malteser Deutschland, part of the international Catholic aid organization Malteser Order of Malta.

On the tour with Krueger, Ingrid Barkow watched from her wheelchair as the elephants roamed their habitat, while Monika Jansen balanced on her tiptoes to get a better view of a rhinoceros.

“When I get home, I’ll still be thinking about it,” said Jansen, 85. “Maybe even at night, while I’m sleeping and dreaming about it.”

The three women are among roughly 1.6 million people living with dementia in Germany, according to the Office of the National Dementia Strategy. The figure is expected to rise to 2.8 million by 2050.

Museums and other cultural institutions across the globe have added specialized, barrier-free tours and guides to their repertoire in recent years, some made possible by advances in technology.

These include sign-language tours for people who are deaf and hard of hearing, touch-based events for those with blindness or low vision and programs for people on the autism spectrum.

The Berlin chapter of Malteser Deutschland last year designed a cultural program in the capital catering to people with dementia.

“People with dementia aren’t very visible in our society. It’s still a major taboo subject, yet it actually affects a great many people and it’s important that they continue to be at the heart of society," project coordinator Christine Gruschka said. "They have a right to participate, just like everyone else.”

Millions of people around the globe have some form of dementia, a progressive loss of memory, reasoning, language skills and other cognitive functions. People can experience changes in personality, emotional control and even visual perception. Alzheimer’s is the most widely recognized type, but there are many others, with their own symptoms and underlying biology.

Malteser Berlin's tours for people with dementia occur at the zoo, the Museum of Natural History, Britzer Garden and Charlottenburg Palace, with hopes of expanding to other locations.

“‘Normal’ tours — so-called normal tours — are often too fast, too loud, with too many people and too many distractions," Gruschka said. "That’s why we’ve made it our goal to create programs specifically for people with dementia: Where they still feel seen, where they feel comfortable, and where they can still show that they’re still here and can still be part of it.”

Krueger, Jansen and Barkow followed Malteser Berlin tour coordinator Carola Tembrink around the Berlin Zoo, accompanied by their daughters and a caregiver.

Tembrink skipped the majority of the zoo's vast offerings to focus on the hippo, rhino and elephant habitats so the participants would not get too tired or overwhelmed.

“The zoo is a wonderful place for tours like this because almost everyone who grew up in Berlin has been here as a child," Tembrink said. "And especially for people with dementia, childhood memories are often still present — they just need to be jogged a bit — and that happens naturally when they see the animals, smell the air as they enter the zoo, or when they go into the rhino house and catch a different scent.”

For the caregivers and families, the tours are a lifeline. During long and sometimes frustrating days of caring for someone with dementia, a specialized tour lets them connect with others who understand the journey.

Krueger was formally diagnosed last year with dementia, but her daughter, Kerstin Hoehne, said the symptoms appeared more than two years ago.

“What’s nice is that it’s also with, let’s say, like-minded people, that you’re not alone, but that you have a sense of belonging because everyone else might have the same problem,” Hoehne said.

Barkow's daughter, Manuela Grudda, said the tour brought them closer together. Grudda pushed Barkow's wheelchair through the zoo, her hands caressing her mother's shoulders or pointing out the animals.

“I can’t really communicate with her in a normal way, of course, but I see that when I show her something, she looks at it, she’s paying attention, and that’s important,” Grudda said. “And it just makes me happy that she’s not just in her own world, but also in this one.”

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Participants and advisors put their hands on a cardboard box in the size of an elephant's foot during a guided tour for people with dementia organized by Malteser Deutschland, part of the international Catholic aid organization Malteser Order of Malta, at the Zoo in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

A hippopotamus's tooth is given to participants during a guided tour for people with dementia organized by Malteser Deutschland, part of the international Catholic aid organization Malteser Order of Malta, at the Zoo in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Project coordinator Christine Gruschka, left, talks to Monika Jansen, 85, during a guided tour for people with dementia organized by Malteser Deutschland, part of the international Catholic aid organization Malteser Order of Malta, at the Zoo in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Christel Krueger, center right, attends a guided tour for people with dementia organized by Malteser Deutschland, part of the international Catholic aid organization Malteser Order of Malta, at the Zoo in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Monika Jansen, 85, looks to a hippo during a guided tour for people with dementia organized by Malteser Deutschland, part of the international Catholic aid organization Malteser Order of Malta, at the Zoo in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Morgan Geekie bounced in a shot from beyond center as part of Boston’s three-goal second-period surge and the Bruins beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-2 to even their first-round playoff series at 1 on Tuesday night.

Viktor Arvidsson scored twice and Pavel Zacha also scored. David Pastrnak had two assists to give him five points in the series and tie Bobby Orr for eighth on the Bruins career playoff list with 92 points.

Jeremy Swayman stopped 32 shots, and this time Boston managed to not blow a multigoal third-period lead.

Bowen Byram and Peyton Krebs scored 1:14 apart to cut Boston's lead to 4-2 with 4:52 remaining in regulation before being stymied by Swayman, who stopped the final eight shots he faced.

The Sabres opened the series with a 4-3 win in which they overcame a 2-0 third-period deficit by scoring four times in the final 7:58 of regulation on Sunday.

“A series doesn’t start until you win one on the road and that’s important for us moving forward,” Swayman said. “The biggest thing for our group is we left the past in the past and understood there was an opportunity tonight and seized it.”

The series shifts to Boston for Game 3 on Thursday night.

Rather than carry over the momentum from Sunday, the Sabres gradually sagged due to spotty goaltending and an anemic power play.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen finished with 15 saves and was pulled after allowing Arvidsson’s second goal 16 seconds into the third period to put Boston up 4-0. Alex Lyon mopped up and finished stopping all seven shots he faced.

Luukkonen looked shaky on three of the four goals allowed.

Coach Lindy Ruff refused to blame Luukkonen specifically. He called Geekie's goal “lucky,” and added: “This team has been so good about we win together, we lose together. I’m not going to sit here and criticize that goal.”

And yet, Ruff didn't rule out the possibility of going with Lyon in Game 3.

Arvidsson opened the scoring 4:54 into the second period by beating Buffalo defender Mattias Samuelsson to a loose puck. He then drove in and beat Luukkonen through the legs after the goalie was late in getting his stick down.

Then came Geekie’s goal some 12 minutes later. From just outside the center line, the forward flipped a high backhander at the Buffalo net. Luukkonen came out of his crease in an attempt to glove it, only to have the puck bounce past him.

Geekie smiled when asked if he ever scored a goal like that and said: “No. And I don't think ever will again. Honestly, was just trying to dump it in and got a lucky bounce.”

Luukkonen took the blame on misplaying Geekie's shot.

“It’s a bad bounce. There’s no way around it: It can’t go in. Just kind of made a bad read on it,” he said. “I feel like the biggest thing for me, personally is if there’s a bad bounce, bad goal, you have to stop the bleeding. But wasn’t able to do that tonight.”

After Zacha redirected Pastrnak’s centering pass for a power-play goal with 1:50 left in the second period, Arvidsson scored by driving up the right wing and beating Luukkonen through the legs from 25 feet.

Buffalo’s power play continued to struggle in going 0-of-5 on Tuesday and 0-of-9 in two games. The drought extends into the season, after Buffalo closed 0-for-22 over its final seven games.

Ruff acknowledged the power play's struggles, but otherwise took the loss in stride. He noted that the Sabres were short on playoff experience after winning their first Atlantic Division title and snapping an NHL-record 14-year playoff drought.

“It's playoff hockey. Our guys have experienced very little of it. Now in a matter of few days, they’ve been able to experience two games,” Ruff said. "There’s areas we’re going to have to get better at, but don’t want to see one person doubting that we’re not going to go into Boston and win a hockey game.”

With the city still buzzing from Buffalo’s stunning win in Game 1, Bills quarterback Josh Allen kicked things off by beating the drum to lead the “Let’s go, Buffalo!” chants. The new father, wearing the jersey of Sabres forward and occasional golf partner Alex Tuch, then chugged a can of beer before violently throwing it to the ground to a crescendo of cheers.

AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen hypes the crowd prior to the first period in Game 2 of a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series between the Buffalo Sabres and Boston Bruins Tuesday, April 21, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)

Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman (1) makes a save in traffic during the first period in Game 2 of a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Buffalo Sabres Tuesday, April 21, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)

Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (1) watches the puck during the second period in Game 2 of a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Boston Bruins Tuesday, April 21, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)

Boston Bruins center Morgan Geekie (39) celebrates his goal with right wing David Pastrnak (88) during the second period in Game 2 of a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Buffalo Sabres Tuesday, April 21, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)

Boston Bruins left wing Viktor Arvidsson (71) celebrates his goal during the second period in Game 2 of a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Buffalo Sabres Tuesday, April 21, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)