We went along to the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital to have follow up and a wee demonstration of the Omivista unit that our donation back in February had provided. The hospital play service manager Heather Beattie and NHS communications officer Emma Pettis took some time out from their busy day to show us around.

When we arrived at the play area the Omivista was already up and running (and being enjoyed by some children) so it was easy for us to see what it actually was capable of. Basically the unit projects an image onto the surrounding floor area, this image is interactive meaning that the children can touch it, stamp on it, roll on it or interact with it in many ways and the image will react in some way depending on the play mode. It’s also sensory so the children can touch it, hear it and see what is happening.

As you can see from the photos 3 year old Megan is loving it, trying to swim in the pond and even trying to fill her flask with water (we didn’t spoil the illusion). 

It really is amazing technology and the amount of different play modes we saw were amazing. While we there we saw the children making a pond ripple with their hands trying to catch the fish, chasing and then stamping on jellyfish to make them explode, making planets spin around a universe with their hands or feet. There was even a piano, xylophone and other musical instruments that could be interacted with and would actually play music. There is even a football simulation that we had great fun with kicking the balls around (big kids eh!).

Play service manager Heather Beattie told us that the beauty of the Omivista is in getting children who are or have been ill to interact with the floor image in an almost instinctive way. Children who have had a broken or immobile arm or leg can play with it and start to get some mobility back into the limb. While children who have been bedridden for a while can also easily get benefit from it as it is extremely portable and can be wheeled into a child’s room easily. It’s really no bigger than a small bedside table.

Heather also told us that the physiotherapists in the hospital love it as, in some cases, it can be hard to try and get a child mobile again after a period of illness but with the Omivista the child wants to naturally play with the interactive elements and get moving again.

Heather and her team do truly fantastic work with the children and have our greatest respect for the work they do. We’re privileged to have been able to help out the RACH Play department and are glad that the Omivista has arrived and is in almost constant use bringing a bit of fun into children’s lives that have to visit the hospital. 

Of course, as always, TACC could not do things like this without your help. Our supporters really make a difference to the lives of disadvantaged children here in Scotland and overseas. Thank you.

Huge thanks also to Heather and Emma for showing us around.

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As you all know Scotland will play a friendly against Estonia on the 6^th February at Pittodrie in Aberdeen. To take advantage of this rare home game outside of Hampden Park we have decided to make a very special donation.

Since 2004 the new Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital, which replaced the original children’s hospital built in 1929, has been treating and caring for children’s health in the NE of Scotland. The RACH Play Department operates with-in the hospital to try and bring a wee bit of fun and interactivity to the children while they are in the hospital. Making sure that play is a part of the child’s treatment programme, helping relieve boredom and anxiety in a fun and friendly environment and helping families cope during a child’s stay are just a few of the important roles the department fulfils with-in the hospital.

The Play Service has an experienced team of qualified Play Staff and is made up of qualified Play Leaders, Play Specialists and Senior Play Specialists. The Play Staff work throughout the hospital on most wards, Out patients department and Accident and Emergency. They also have a small team of Play Volunteers who work alongside the Qualified Play Staff.

We got in touch with Heather Beattie from the Play Unit and asked how we could help out with either a donation or by providing some much needed equipment. After talking to Heather and hearing about the wonderful work that they do with the children there we have decided to go ahead and make a donation to enable them to purchase the mobile omiVista system for the Play Unit. (Although we have just taken to calling it the”Gizmo”). 

The omiVista Mobile system is an interactive projection system that opens up a new world of interaction. The system projects dynamic images onto the floor or any other light coloured horizontal surface, where the child’s movements and motion actions activate a host of audio visual effects and games. High tech, state of the art stuff and we’re sure the children will love it.