Children’s Hospital New Orleans breaks ground on Walker’s Imaginarium, reimagining the child healthcare experience in partnership with Kids Join The Fight

NEW ORLEANS, LA – Today, Children’s Hospital New Orleans celebrated the groundbreaking of Walker’s Imagainarium, a two-story child enrichment center planned for Children’s Hospital’s Main Campus, and envisioned in partnership with Kids Join the Fight. Named in loving memory of Walker Beery, who founded nonprofit Kids Join the Fight before losing his own battle to pediatric brain cancer, Walker’s Imaginarium will serve as a place of joy, connection and imaginative escape – a place where kids can play, heal, and momentarily forget they are sick.

With the start of construction, the dream of Walker’s Imaginarium is getting closer to becoming a reality thanks to the many generous donors who have supported the $16M project, which is being made possible entirely through philanthropic support.

“Walker’s Imaginarium will create joy, smiles, and most importantly serve as a place for kids to just be kids,” said Lucio A. Fragoso, President and CEO of Children’s Hospital New Orleans. “Kids will heal faster because of Walker’s Imaginarium, because fun is part of the healing process here at Children’s Hospital. We are grateful to everyone who has helped make this gift to the children of our community possible.”

Children’s Hospital works hard to ensure as many joyful moments as possible, and Walker’s Imaginarium will do just that. The space will optimize each patient and the family’s ability to cope while navigating their healthcare experience – which can be a hard and stressful time for families. Walker’s Imaginarium will also offer patients and their families an opportunity to connect and form communities of support that would otherwise be difficult in isolated patient rooms or nursing units.

The project is designed by New Orleans-based architecture firm, EskewDumezRipple+, with exhibit design by Gyroscope, a California-based firm that is expert in developing children’s museums and enrichment spaces across the country. Exhibits will be fabricated by local firm, Solomon Group, and the building will be constructed by Lemoine.
“The team has approached this first-of-its-kind project with passion and research – keeping accessible, universal design at the core of the project,” said Kristen Robinson, Vice President and Marketing and Institutional Advancement for Children’s Hospital New Orleans. “We began by hearing ideas from patients, families and our care providers – and together have envisioned a space that celebrates our incredible Louisiana culture, while enhancing the experience of children of all ages and abilities.”

Walker’s Imaginarium will feature two floors filled with interactive, kid-friendly exhibits, including an immersive Funky Forest, Dance Stage and Music Center, Seacrest Studios, a Percussion Tree, Porch Life Zone, Accessible Swing powered by an interactive Mariposa Butterfly, Airboat Adventure, a Sports Zone complete with oversized games and a mini football field, a Putt Putt Parishes nine-hole mini golf course, a dedicated classroom, and a Krewe of Walker Float exhibit, designed by Kern Studios. In celebration of Louisiana’s vibrant culture, the Imaginarium will also incorporate local art and themes into its design.

“Walker’s Imaginairum is more than we could have ever imagined,” said Taylor Beery, Walker’s father, and co-founder of Kids Join The Fight. “This incredible place will help fulfill Walker’s dream that healthcare experiences like our family’s be filled with as many moments of joy as possible. And we have done this through the incredible generosity of others, which is what Kids Join The Fight is all about – doing something to make a difference for the kids who need us most.”

While project planning has continued, Kids Join the Fight and Children’s Hospital have worked together over the last two years to raise the funds needed to make Walker’s Imaginarium possible, with the help of a fundraising steering committee. Major donors include Kids Join The Fight, Joy and Boysie Bollinger, The Brees Dream Foundation, The All Star Foundation, The Villere and Sproul Families, The Patrick Taylor Foundation, Gallo Mechanical, Electrical Sales Corporation, Entergy, The Fore!Kids Foundation, The Helis Foundation, Sean Payton’s Play it Forward Foundation, The Ryan Seacrest Foundation, Kern Studios, Susan and Ralph Brennan, and dozens of other supporters who have generously supported the project.

There are still opportunities to join the fight and be a part of this first-of-its-kind project. To learn more about how you can support Walker’s Imaginarium, contact the Children’s Hospital Development Office at 504.896.9375. With construction beginning in February, Walker’s Imaginarium is planned to open in early summer, 2026.

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About Children’s Hospital New Orleans
Children’s Hospital New Orleans is a 263-bed, non-profit academic pediatric medical center that offers comprehensive healthcare services, including over 40 pediatric specialties, delivered just for children. With more than 700 pediatric providers, Children’s offers a comprehensive array of pediatric healthcare services in Louisiana and the Gulf South. In addition to its main campus located in New Orleans, the hospital operates 10 specialty care clinics across the region, including in Covington, Baton Rouge, Alexandria, Lafayette, and Diamondhead, MS. Additionally, Children’s offers primary care services at 14 convenient locations, along with a network of statewide pediatric affiliations. Children’s is a proud member of LCMC Health, a Louisiana-based, not-for-profit hospital system which also includes New Orleans East Hospital, Touro, University Medical Center New Orleans, West Jefferson Medical Center, East Jefferson General Hospital, Lakeview Hospital, and Lakeside Hospital. Learn more at chnola.org.

About Kids Join The Fight
The mission of Kids Join The Fight is to empower kids to join the fight against pediatric cancer by raising money to provide local CARE for pediatric cancer patients and their families and to fund research to CURE childhood cancer. With the overarching goals of CARE and CURE for pediatric cancer patients, Kids Join The Fight aims to make the cancer-fighting experience less daunting and more comfortable for all involved so that the loved ones can focus on the child and not on the details of care and treatment. Learn more at www.kidsjointhefight.org.