Social hospital toy lets isolated young patients play with other kids

Konnekt is a hospital isolation barrier that doubles as a two-way toy, enabling collaborative play among children that have to be separated.

Hospitals are never fun for kids, and we’ve seen a number of ideas in the past attempt to make their experience more comfortable, from pirate-themed CT scanners to fun robots. But being able to interact with other children is still a major bonus, something denied to kids who need to be kept in isolation or quarantine. From the Netherlands, Konnekt is a hospital isolation barrier that doubles as a two-way toy, enabling collaborative play among children that have to be separated.

The glass barriers feature nodes that can be attached using suction pads and magnets. Kids can then add a number of shapes to create a pattern or image. The blocks come in a range of shapes, sizes and colors — from straightforward oblongs to more random forms. Connecting the blocks with magnets can cause activity on the other side of the window, and vice versa, or the shapes can be used to create grids for games such as tic tac toe and chess. Even when children need to placed in to isolation — which can be up to four months for young patients with diseases such as cancer — Konnekt enables them to interact with other kids in the hospital, and the wide range of possibilities involved with the toy means that play can be different each time. The video below offers more information about the concept:

Konnekt helps to ensure that children undergoing difficult hospital stays can still participate in the developmental play necessary for healthy human interactions. Are there other ways to make hospitals more enjoyable for kids — whether they’re staying for a short period or not?