Co-Designing the Space Lounge: Transforming Paediatric Hospital Play Through Interactive HCI

The challenge was to deliver a screen-free, imaginative play experience using emerging HCI technologies in a clinical setting for children of all ages and abilities. The program needed to adhere to stringent infection control protocols, which required all materials to be sanitised or discarded, while fostering emotionally resonant, tactile, and creative experiences in a fast-paced hospital environment. Achieving accessibility, emotional safety, and interactivity without screens required rethinking how children could meaningfully engage with technology in constrained, high-stress contexts.

The Starlight Express Room was transformed into an interactive, space-themed environment filled with suspended planets, glowing aliens, infinity galaxies, and charging rocketships, all created by children through hands-on making sessions. The experience utilised accessible, engaging technologies to inspire creativity through screen-free play. A preliminary co-design workshop with children and Starlight Captains informed the selection of materials and planned activities. During the week-long engagement, children then chose what to make and where to exhibit their creations within a shared cosmic landscape. In the following display week, a robot track was added, allowing kids to navigate robots through the scene.

More than 500 children contributed to the installation over two weeks, with repeat visits, peer mentoring, and family engagement evident throughout. Not only did the installation enable a distraction from the stress of a hospital admission, staff feedback showed that interactive elements, such as the LED-enabled creations, invited even initially reluctant children to participate in joyful making. Data from staff interviews, visitor counts, and on-site journaling demonstrated how co-designed play encouraged connection, emotional expression, and resilience. This project provides a scalable model for delivering inclusive, creative experiences in paediatric care, with plans to replicate it across Starlight Express Rooms nationwide.