Healthy Zoo: Preparing Children for Medical Checkups Through Play

Reimagine Well partners with CalArts and Child's Play Charity to bring play-based innovation to pediatric healthcare.

LAGUNA BEACH, Calif., Oct. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- For a child, even a routine medical checkup can be terrifying. The unfamiliar surroundings, strange equipment and uncertainty about what will happen next can make fear take hold before they ever step into the clinic.

Healthy Zoo was designed to help. The free, interactive adventure uses play to help children prepare for medical visits. Available free on smartphones and tablets, with no account or personal data collection required, it supports families at home, in the waiting room, and at the point of care.

Funded by a generous grant from Child's Play Charities, Healthy Zoo begins at home, where children are invited into a vibrant, playful zoo filled with adorable animal characters. Each animal needs a little help—getting their blood pressure checked, having their height measured, opening wide for a throat exam, and more. By caring for their animals, children naturally learn what to expect during their own checkup. Upon arrival at the clinic, graphic QR codes in waiting areas bring the zoo animals back to life, reinforcing what they've learned. Inside the exam room, children can engage with them again, turning moments of uncertainty into moments of comfort.

"This project is deeply personal to me. I spent several months caring for my younger brother during his treatment for pediatric cancer, and I witnessed firsthand the fear and anxiety children experience in medical environments—especially when they don't understand what's happening," said Anousha Baqai, Creative Producer and Game Designer of Healthy Zoo.

The project was conceived in the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) "Healthcare By Design" class and developed in partnership with Reimagine Well. In addition to Anousha Baqai, the creative team included CalArts students Nathan Balducci, Software Developer / Sound Designer; Julie Zheng, Character Designer / Animator; Peggy Biying Lian, Graphics / UI Designer; Cindy Padilla, voice artist and Jacqueline Fossett, concept design.

Debbie Wagers, MHA, CCLS, Supervisor, Child Life Services at Boys Town National Research Hospital, served as the project's clinical consultant, helping ensure that the experience reflected the needs of pediatric patients, families, and clinical teams. Wagers was also the clinical lead for the initial rollout of Healthy Zoo at Boys Town, bringing the program into its first clinical implementation.

Healthy Zoo is available for free in the Android and iTunes stores.

About Reimagine Well
Reimagine Well's mission is to ease the patient journey from diagnosis to wellbeing using imagination, technology, and education. Roger Holzberg and Leonard Sender, MD, founded Reimagine Well. Sender is Director of the Chan Soon-Shiong Institute for Medicine (CSSIFM).
In addition to teaching "Healthcare By Design" at CalArts, Holzberg served as the first (consulting) Creative Director for the National Cancer Institute. Previously, he spent 12 years as an award-winning Creative Director / Vice President at Walt Disney Imagineering and is a 20+ year cancer survivor.

About CalArts
California Institute of the Arts has set the pace for educating professional artists since 1970. Offering rigorous undergraduate and graduate degree programs through six schools - Art, Critical Studies, Dance, Film/Video, Music, and Theater - CalArts has championed creative excellence, critical reflection, and the development of new forms and expressions.

About Child's Play Charities   
Child's Play is devoted to improving the lives of children and teens in children's hospitals. In 2015 Child's Play debuted the therapeutic video game guide. In 2017 Child's Play funded the first Pediatric Gaming and Technology Specialists within children's Hospitals. This new career field brings dedicated gaming experts into the hospitals to support therapeutic gaming.

Contact:

• Reimagine Well / (949) 793-8777 / [email protected] 

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SOURCE Reimagine Well