What are Starlight Spaces?

Community Stories

·Oct 28th, 2021

When sick kids undergo treatment at hospitals, they don’t always have the opportunity to go home, visit the park, or hang out with friends. Often times, they have to stay in small, sterile rooms with very little to do. This can lead to loneliness, discomfort, and anxiety, but Starlight Spaces can create an oasis of happiness within the hospital.

Starlight Spaces overhaul existing spaces in hospitals and renovate them to be fun zones where pediatric patients and their families can go to play, socialize, and have a sense of normalcy.

By re-imagining playrooms, treatment rooms, waiting areas, family kitchens, lounges, and even outdoor playgrounds, pediatric patients and their families can relax and enjoy their time together.

In addition, these spaces provide a safe place for kids and their families to connect with one another, their visitors, and even other families that are going through similar experiences – giving them the opportunity to create a community of support within the hospital.

“It was a blah room, but now it’s a wow factor! It really looks like you’re in a treehouse! Before, this room didn’t get a lot of action. But now, the volume of people coming into the room... it’s just so awesome.”
- Alyssa Luksa, Director of Child Life and Expressive Therapy, Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital

Since 2003, more than 100 Starlight Spaces have been reimagined and transformed the hospital experience for over 3.2 million children. As we look to the future, Starlight will continue to find new ways to make all pediatric environments engaging and inviting to reduce the fear and anxiety that comes with being hospitalized.

Thanks to the support of corporate sponsors, annual campaigns, and our individual donors, Starlight is able to directly improve the quality of life of hospitalized kids!