Star Wars Week

The force was strong in hospitals throughout the UK on May 4th and the four days running up to it when we made Star Wars Day last all week!

Children in every hospital/healthcare centre with a MediCinema were invited to take part in the Design-A-Droid competition. All the young patients were invited to design a droid for their chance to win a Hamley’s gift voucher. Our team of volunteers were on hand to choose one winner from each site – congratulations to all the winners!

Thanks to our friends at Apache, patients in Evelina got to test their Droid Repair skills and challenged themselves with Trials on Tatooine – two of epic Star Wars Virtual Reality games and experiences at our VR day in in St Thomas’ Hospital, London, going on truly out-of-this-world adventures.

For children stuck in hospital or with long term conditions, VR not only offers an opportunity to escape into another world the most real sense and experience something completely different, but also gives them the chance to be normal, to enjoy a game with their friends and peers, and gives something to talk about together for months to come.

Finally on May 4th, the big day itself, we held two special screenings of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, one at St Thomas’ Hospital where patients were escorted by Stormtroopers from the Galactic Empire, and another at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital where our patients mastered the skills of a Jedi from Jedi trainers. At both these screenings, everyone got to take home their very own lightsabre and continue their Jedi skills training.

Thank you so much, Disney and Lucasfilm, for making our week-long May the 4th celebrations so special, creating moments that matter for our patients and those closest to them by transporting them to a galaxy far, far away!