This Children’s Hospital Replaces Fear with Creativity
A raccoon, bear and a rabbit walk into a hospital.
But this unexpected collection of animals isn’t a bar scene. It’s Loma Land, an interactive digital wilderness that helps kids feel less stressed and anxious about hospital visits.
Located at the NBBJ-designed Loma Linda Children’s Hospital in California, Loma Land reduces feelings of unease by immersing children in a world of colorful creatures, rustling plants and gentle sounds.
Kids are invited to create a personalized animal companion, inspired by the local landscape and adorned with whimsical accessories, from acorn hats to bedazzled sunglasses.
When finished, they interact with their forest friend one-on-one, or “release” it into the wild on a 60-foot screen to watch it play with other animals.
We have a population that is coming to us at very stressful times in their lives. We believe that whole person care really makes a difference in healing.”
Loma Land’s merry band of forest friends and their habitat are designed using a video game engine to achieve their lifelike appearance and interactivity.
The gaming engine uses a virtual camera with customizable video effects to create the digital forest world.
Kids create their animals at one of three design stations.
They can then interact with them, or "release" them into the wild.
