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Day 2 - Text - An Alternative Universe | Puppet Portal Project - Hospital A
2009-04-19

Day 2 - Text - An Alternative Universe

I started the day working one on one with a repeat patient from last Friday (with intermittent visiting children) to select photos, titles, and text for the new media journal which was being trial-ed that day. I showed her the edited video footage of her performance with another patient from last week. She was delighted with this, and so was Dad. Children and parents asked whether they could view the videos from the internet. I explained that this was not possible as the hospital web portal is for use by the hospital community only. Therefore, I will be creating CDs of the videos and posting them to the families once they are edited. My plan for the rest of the day was to encourage further creation of our ‘alternative universe’. As suggested by the hospital play specialist, I asked the children, when making their planets, whether they would consider making one for them and one to leave in the playroom. The older children enjoyed using the hospital web portal’s, Aiteile’s, access to educational sites to reference colour, shape, etc of what can be found in outer-space. We then explored the ideas of what/who might be moving in between the planets. This worked well, and we now have a mini universe complete with shooting stars, aliens and a space ship, which I will mount as a mobile. Each planet has an imaginative short story/description created by the children which I will share with the next group(s) to incite further exploration. This mobile can be used as a back drop or set and can be animated to further the next children’s stories. I hope to hang the mobile in the play-room and to also attach it to a drip stand so that it can be used in multiple places. Starting with the theme of space will allow us to begin to explore ideas of travel, place, and perspective. I also had a very good conversation with the play specialist on how to increase awareness about the project on the ward, as one member of staff thought I was a student (although I am wearing a badge and a “Helium” t-shirt. I will hopefully have the opportunity to make a presentation on the project at the next ward meeting. We will also hang a poster/flyer at the nurse’s station, and at the start of the next day, the hospital play specialist will bring me to the nurse’s station for another introduction. I am currently working mainly from the playroom, but I will also explore ideas and ways of bringing the project onto the ward. Today, the nurse’s were happy to give children their drips etc in the playroom while they worked, so not to interrupt the sessions. The nurses chose to do this on their own initiative.