MADISON, Wis. -- Madison's senior centers are filled to capacity with people intent on keeping their minds sharp.

The end result is more sophisticated seniors. They are evolving, picking up on technology -- and that creates a demand for new ways for them to exercise their brains.

"This is our largest program. I've been with the coalition for one year and we've had 85 people come to this program and our programs usually run around 45," said Kate Shaw, executive director of the West Madison Senior Coalition.

Eleanor Glowacki is one senior who is taking full advantage of the opportunities put forth by the senior center, particularly those that focus on developing the mind well into one's senior years.

As a young girl growing up in Chicago, she kept an official scorebook of Chicago Cubs games while listening on the radio. That drove her interest in numbers that still keeps her mind working today.

"My dad taught me how to do that ... And I would score them for him so he could come home and get a running play by play of the game as it went. All my life has been involved with numbers," said Glowacki, who moved to Madison in 2000 at the urging of her daughter.

Now she keeps her brain working in a variety of ways -- with craftwork, computer games like Solitaire, her also reads, sometimes a book a day, which the Alzheimer's Association said is a great way to keep the mind sharp.

Experts also encourage crosswords, puzzles and a variety of games. They suggest trying new things and committing to a lifetime of learning.

Glowacki said she appreciates the variety of programs the senior center has to offer, including a recent program on halting corruption in state government.

"(They are) provocative types of programs which make you think about things and get interested in what's going on around you, " Glowacki said.

Shaw said that the seniors she sees on a daily basis really understand that being healthy includes the mental aspect of things.

"Once you start to get older, you maybe can't run a marathon as much, but gosh you can sit there and stimulate your brain and think about new things and passion that you have or something that really interests you," Shaw said. "So it's nice to have something other than just running to keep you active and young."

Whether it's playing cards or simply getting her mind off things with computer Solitaire, Glowacki recommends anything that gets people out of their norm -- instead of just falling asleep in front of the TV all day.

Even those who are TV buffs can enhance their brains by changing the way they watch TV.

For many, the brain waves when a person watches TV are similar to when that person is asleep, experts say.

Dr. Marge Engelman suggests in her Aerobics for the Mind program to play along with game show contestants, listen to the interviews and count how many times an interviewer says "um."

She said to take note of the clothes people wear and of the advertisements -- even challenging yourself to develop a new ad for the product.

The average older adult watches about 43 hours of TV per week, WISC-TV reported.

New Senior Center Proposed

There are a number of senior centers in the area. Most of the suburbs have them are there are four in Madison.

But as the demands of seniors increase, it is time to expand.

The West Side Senior Coalition will soon embark on a capital campaign for a new $3 million facility. It has been proposed for a site at Odana School Park on Segoe Road.

"Hopefully in the next three years, we'll be having a new senior center. Odana School Park has approved us to build there, so we'll be having a capital campaign in a year. But with that new center we can have a computer lab, we can have software, we can have interactive things going on with programs. So that's definitely something we look forward to," Shaw said.

WISC-TV reported that 60 percent of Madison's older population live within six miles of the proposed new center.

On Wednesday, WISC-TV's series on exercising your brain will look at some new "brain training" video games.