NEW ORLEANS (press release) – After two years of planning to make Walker’s Imaginarium possible, Children’s Hospital New Orleans and Kids Join The Fight will officially break ground on the first-of-its-kind children enrichment center that will include two floors filled with interactive, kid-friendly exhibits.
Walker’s Imaginarium is a 15,000-square-foot child enrichment center planned for the main campus of Children’s Hospital New Orleans that will provide a unique therapeutic environment for children of all ages and abilities to find joy and thrive throughout their hospital stay.
Named in loving memory of Walker Beery, who founded nonprofit Kids Join the Fight before losing his own battle to pediatric brain cancer, Walker’s Imaginarium will serve as a place of healing and enrichment for children—a space where kids can play and momentarily forget they are sick.
Child enrichment leads to improved quality, outcomes, and patient family experiences. Families also need a space to be families while experiencing a hospital stay, which can be a hard and stressful time for both parents and siblings. Something as simple as a walk outside or a moment to step away and dance can provide a tremendous amount of respite. Children’s Hospital works hard to ensure as many joyful moments as possible, and Walker’s Imaginarium will do just that, optimizing the patient and the family’s ability to cope while navigating their healthcare experience. The imaginative escape of Walker’s Imaginarium will also offer patients and their families an opportunity to connect and form communities of support that would otherwise be difficult in isolated patient rooms or nursing units.
The project is designed by New Orleans-based architecture firm, EskewDumezRipple+, with exhibit design by Gyroscope, a California-based firm that is expert in developing children’s museums and enrichment spaces across the country. The team has approached this first-of-its-kind project with passion and research – keeping accessible, universal design at the core of the project. Exhibits will be fabricated by local firm, Solomon Group, and the building will be constructed by Lemoine, with groundbreaking planned for January and opening slated for May of 2026.
The Imaginarium will feature two floors filled with interactive, kid-friendly exhibits, including an immersive Funky Forest, Dance Stage and Music Center, Seacrest Studios, a Percussion Tree, Porch Life Zone, Accessible Swing powered by an interactive Mariposa Butterfly, Airboat Adventure, Sports Zone, Putt Putt Parishes nine-hole mini golf course, a dedicated classroom, and a Krewe of Walker Float exhibit where kids can design their own Mardi Gras throws and engage in costume dress-up. In celebration of Louisiana’s vibrant culture, the Imaginarium will also incorporate local art and themes into its design.
The dream of Walker’s Imaginarium is getting closer to becoming a reality thanks to the many generous donors who have supported the project, which is being made possible entirely through philanthropic support.
Children’s Hospital New Orleans is a 263-bed, non-profit academic pediatric medical center that offers comprehensive healthcare services, including over 40 pediatric specialties, delivered just for children. With more than 600 pediatric providers, Children’s offers a comprehensive array of pediatric healthcare services in Louisiana and the Gulf South. In addition to its main campus located in New Orleans, the hospital operates a network of specialty clinics across Louisiana, including in Covington, Baton Rouge, Alexandria, Lafayette, and Diamondhead, MS.
Children’s offers primary care services at 12 convenient locations and remotely via its Virtual Care for Kids program. Children’s is a proud member of LCMC Health, a Louisiana-based, not-for-profit hospital system which also includes New Orleans East Hospital, Touro, University Medical Center New Orleans, West Jefferson Medical Center, East Jefferson General Hospital, Lakeview Hospital, and Lakeside Hospital. Learn more at chnola.org.
The mission of Kids Join The Fight is to empower kids to join the fight against pediatric cancer by raising money to provide local CARE for pediatric cancer patients and their families and to fund research to CURE childhood cancer. With the overarching goals of CARE and CURE for pediatric cancer patients, Kids Join The Fight aims to make the cancer-fighting experience less daunting and more comfortable for all involved so that the loved ones can focus on the child and not on the details of care and treatment.