Kaylee Kent was a bit shy at first, but before long she was smiling and laughing as she played in the indoor playground at the Medical College of Georgia Children’s Medical Center.

Kaylee, 3, is among many children who have enjoyed the playground since it opened last month, said child life specialist Abbie Suskay.

“Kids are in here all the time,” she said. “That’s the best part about it. This space is not closed down. It has turned into another congregating space, where the family can get together outside of the hospital room.”

It gives them a place to have fun, said Sandra McVicker, the interim president and CEO of MCG Health Inc.

“It’s bad enough that children have to come to the hospital when they’re sick, and this provides for them and their siblings a place to come out and be distracted from all of the things that go on in a hospital room,” she said.

Children in the hospital’s Kids’ Art program selected a dinosaur theme for the playground. It sits atop padded flooring and includes a large flower tree, dinosaurs they can sit on and crawl under or through, a balancing log and wall games.

The playground offers more than a place to play, Ms. Suskay said.

“When they first had the idea to do this, they were thinking of how it could not only be a place that could normalize the environment but one that could also have therapeutic purposes,” she said. “It’s a fun place to play, but it’s also an inviting and a fun way to do therapy.”

Many of the playground features can be used to work on gross motor skills through play, she said.

The playground was funded by donations to the Children’s Miracle Network.

By Nikasha Dicks