A hospital admission can be a challenging time for children. One of the pediatricians at VieCuri Medical Center approached us (Arne and Sander) to bring our passion for building to the pediatric ward.

We designed seven building sets with animals in the underwater theme of the pediatric ward. Building them can provide a bit of distraction, and afterward, they serve as a lovely memento of what might have been a difficult time in the hospital.

Each set comes with various eyes so children can give their animal its own emotion. Does the animal look happy or not?

VieAmi, the ambassadors' foundation of VieCuri, made this project possible and arranged the funding for about a year. VieAmi is looking for donors so the project can continue after this first year: www.vieami.nl. For just 5 euros, you can donate a set!

In addition to the building sets, the pediatric ward also received its mascot, the blue submarine, as a gift built with 5,700 bricks.

At the project launch, we organised workshops for the hospitalized children. There is also a monthly building competition where children can win great prizes with their own creations.

The project made front-page news in De Limburger and Omroep Venlo published a video report. Vietamine also published an article on this project.

Photography workshop: Pascale Clephas