According to the Alzheimer’s Association, more than seven million Americans live with the disease, and that number is expected to rise to about 13 million by 2050. Dealing with Alzheimer’s disease, dementia or any memory-related issues are typically anything but magical.
However, a local assisted living and memory care community recently introduced a “magic table” that has improved the wellbeing of many patients.
Juniper Village, an assisted senior living community with more than 30 locations across the country, opened its Williamstown location on the Black Horse Pike back in 2003. Since its opening, Juniper has prioritized memory care, a kind of long-term care specifically designed for those with any sort of cognitive memory issues or diseases like dementia and Alzheimer’s. Its signature program and living community is called Wellspring Memory Care.
The Wellspring program takes a holistic and personalized approach to memory care and support for the patients residing at Juniper Village and the specific Wellspring small house model facility. (The general Juniper Village facility houses 35 residents and the Wellspring facility houses 32).
Inside Wellspring, the staff added a Tovertafel – which translates to “magic table” in Dutch – to its garden room in late 2025.
The Tovertafel is a large table with a high-quality projector hanging above it. When in use, various interactive motion-based games and activities are projected on the table for residents to engage with. According to Juniper Village staff, the Tovertafel innovation was developed in the 2010s and it is designed specifically for people living with dementia and other cognitive challenges, as it stimulates their senses and allows them to work on their motor, mental and social skills.
“We got involved with Tovertafel, because a lot of the recent data around it (suggests it) really helps improve socialization, brings everyone together and it’s a different way to have technology in a memory care community,” said Liz Plozner-Chalfa, regional director of Juniper Communities who has been with Juniper for 12 years. Plozner-Chalfa said she first heard of the Tovertafel at a conference a few years ago.
“When we started doing the research behind it, we were able to see a bridge of increased engagement with our associates and our residents with other residents and their families,” she said. “When we demoed it at a community, we really just saw connection and engagement.”
All of the motion-based games and activities just require finger, hand or arm motion from players in terms of physicality, and the rest of the requirements come from the brain. The activities require the players to focus on games, activities and simulations that can help them keep their cognitive skills active. Residents can play with other residents, visitors (like loved ones or school volunteers) or even independently.
Juniper Village in Williamstown offers general assisted living and memory care assisted living.
There are multiple games and activities, suitable for residents of varying interests, which in itself is an important part of memory care and Juniper’s mission:
“Our mission is to nurture the spirit of light, and that is through personalization,” Plozner-Chalfa said. “It’s knowing the individual, knowing what they like and really just making sure that having personalization is available.”
At Wellspring, this personalization is commonly achieved by, for example, finding out what a resident loves or once was surrounded by, and they put images of those things in their own shadow box outside of their room, so they can have an easier time remembering or finding what space is theirs. This could be someone’s favorite animal or pet, an activity like sewing or scuba diving, or people like their children or friends. These little reminders can help bring comfort and cognitive functionality to the residents.
With Tovertafel, someone who loved scuba diving could participate in an activity that has fish or water scenes projected on the table. Someone who loves competition may love the Whack-A-Mole kind of games, where players keep an eye on circles on the table and hit it when a critter pops out. Someone who loves nature can play with an option that has birds and bird feeders, and when the player taps on the feeder food, little bird seed, spills out.
“It’s really fun for them to do,” said Susan Mantz, the Connections Director at Juniper. “There’s a baking one that they really like.”
Mantz said one of her low-functioning residents loves a silverware activity option, since she loves to straighten things out. The resident can just organize and straighten the light-projected silverware, and it makes her very happy.
There are even more passive options. Mantz said if a resident were to get restless at night, a staff member can take them to the Garden Room to watch one activity called Starry Night, which projects bursting stars on the table. This can oftentimes be very relaxing and calming for residents at night.
Additionally, playing with the activities in the afternoon or evening can help residents get their energy out, which promotes more sound sleep later that night.
The staff said they have noticed the positive impacts of using the Tovertafel. They have noticed some residents who rarely socialize or participate in activities are now engaging, and many residents are building new moments with their families in interactive ways.
“I think anything that can spark the brain to keep moving, guessing and following directions is always beneficial,” said Danielle Roman. Her 87-year-old mother has been a resident for nearly two years, and her mother has been a fan of any game with scoring and things she can hit.
“I like that there’s opportunity for some mental games, because the biggest part is keeping their minds going at this age,” she said.
The Tovertafel is scheduled for use throughout the entire week. While Wellspring visitors can use it during group activities and with family, residents from the general Juniper Village facility often come over to use it, as well.
Additionally, Juniper offers a monthly dementia support group at 2 p.m. on the first Thursday. The free group, sponsored by the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, is open to the public. While loved ones and caregivers can chat and receive support, their loved one with memory challenges can use the Tovertafel and experience its benefits.
Residents playing a competitive motion-based game projected on the Tovertafel “magic table” at Juniper Village’s Wellspring Memory Care community.
