The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) was abuzz with activity on the weekend as it opened its doors to all Melburnians for Open House Melbourne.

Over 1,200 visitors, young and old, queued for guided tours of the hospital led by hospital staff.

Open House Melbourne is an annual event that provides the public a free and rare opportunity to discover architectural, engineering and historic buildings nestled around the city. The RCH joined 99 other buildings throughout Melbourne to open their doors on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 July for the event’s fifth year.

Visitors to the RCH enjoyed a ground floor tour, which commenced at the front doors of the hospital and travelled through the hospital’s atrium, Main Street, encompassing a tapestry by the Victorian Tapestry Workshop, the aquarium and the 14 metre tall sculpture by artist Alexander Knox called Creature.  The tour snaked through Specialist Clinics, past the meerkat enclosure and diagnostic services.

The last stops included a display commemorating the official opening of the new hospital by Her Majesty The Queen, Hoyts Beanbag Cinema, Starlight Express Room, Family Resource and Respite Centre, playground and a photo display of the hospital’s inpatient unit.

Visitors also had the opportunity to watch videos recounting The Queen’s visit, the patient move, the development of wayfinding artwork and the energy-saving aspects of the hospital in the Ella Latham Auditorium following their tours.

The event was a wonderful success thanks to RCH staff tour guides who came from a variety of departments in the hospital, including Emergency, Laboratory Services, Centre for Adolescent Health and the Newborn Emergency Transport Service.  Even the RCH CEO, Professor Christine Kilpatrick led tours.  The guides explained key facts about the hospital’s design, activity statistics, wayfinding artwork, family servies and energy efficient attributes.

For more information about Open House Melbourne, visit the event website.