For kids, exploring, playing outside, and of course getting a little messy is second nature. But that has not always been the case for 11-year-old TJ Ackley who has been in and out of hospitals for half of his life.

"He was diagnosed when he was five years old, he has neuroblastoma and bone cancer. Right now he just started a new medication, they're hoping it will get him from being a terminal state to being a critical state, which he can live with. There's new things coming out every day but they're hoping they'll find a cure for his cancer eventually," said Kerry Miller, TJ's mother. 

Ackley's last stay at Oishei Children's Hospital lasted 23 days — a stay too long for any kid to have to go through. But when he was able to escape to the Winter Garden on the fifth floor, he felt like a kid again.

"Makes me feel happy, makes me feel like I'm outside. Since you can't go outside [technically], you can come down to the Winter Garden and be outside," Ackley said.

McKenzie Mattison, the manager of volunteer and family services says that's exactly what the space was intended for in the new hospital. 

"All this beautiful greenery just to kind of take them away from their current situation and hospital environment. It's an opportunity not many hospitals [provide], but we have [it] here for kids to interact with nature, to take a moment to think about something other than what's happening in the hospital," Mattison said.

The Winter Garden provides a space for kids to be able to go on scavenger hunts, get their hands dirty and plant flowers, catch up on some reading, and maybe even watch the snow fall without having to bundle up.

"When you come in here it feels warm," Ackley said.

TJ's mother and stepfather say the Winter Garden helped give him a positive attitude.

"You can't deny to see the glow in their eyes when they come in here," said Larry Miller.

It might be a simple request, to be able to play in the dirt and hide behind trees, but for these kids it's the highlight of their day.

"I think absolutely we take it for granted being able to be out of the hospital and gardening and planting, being surrounded by nature, and some children in their daily lives aren't able to do that so it's really providing tremendous opportunity for kids," Mattison said.