A $1.5 million Lotterywest grant presented to The Kids Research Institute Australia by Health Minister Roger Cook today will go towards an interactive Discovery Centre for children to be located at the northern entrance of the new Perth Children’s Hospital.
The The Kids Discovery Centre will be designed as a fun and engaging educational space that gives children visiting the hospital a break from the wards while simultaneously nurturing their interest in science and health research.
The Kids Research Institute Australia Director, Professor Jonathan Carapetis, said that in addition to inspiring and engaging inpatients, outpatients, their siblings and children from the wider community, the Discovery Centre would give parents an insight into the life-saving work of the Institute’s researchers.
“We are very excited about moving to our new home within the Perth Children’s Hospital next year, and this vibrant, interactive Centre will provide an accessible, fun and public face to the work we do,” Professor Carapetis said.
“We hope to entertain, educate and delight children and their families from all over the State, allowing them to get a greater understanding of how the research we undertake directly improves the health and development of kids – not just in WA, but throughout the world."
“We thank Lotterywest for their generous investment in this vision.”
Professor Carapetis said the Centre would also provide parents with confidence that the treatment their children received in the Perth Children’s Hospital was based on the latest medical research.
Lotterywest’s Head of Grants and Community Development, Lorna Pritchard, said the organisation was all about supporting the things that make Western Australia great.
“That’s something The Kids Research Institute Australia does each and every day by discovering causes, cures and treatments for illness that affect the kids of WA,” Ms Pritchard said.
“With that in mind we were delighted to provide a grant of $1.5 million to support the establishment of the The Kids Discovery Centre,” she added.
The The Kids Discovery Centre, expected to open in 2018, will be a visually exciting and friendly space located on the ground floor of the new hospital.
It will be complemented by mobile units that can be taken into the wards and to outdoor areas, as well as exhibits on the upper floors occupied by The Kids.
You can read the Minister's full announcement here.
ENDS