AV Case Study: Starlight Express Room
We head to Sydney Children’s Hospital to investigate the serious AV business of helping sick kids to have fun.
23 October 2026
Text:/ Richard Neale
Every morning the sky above children’s hospitals across mainland Australia glows and rumbles as a fleet of rocket ships piloted by corps of Captain Starlights descends to land on the roofs. Just don’t tell the doctors and nurses!
After disembarking, the Captains head straight to the Starlight Express Rooms, where their mission is to brighten the lives of sick kids.
AV.technology was recently invited behind the scenes of the new Starlight Express Room at Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick, to meet Captain Starlight and to experience the out-of-this-world AV systems that underpin the good work.
FOUNDATIONAL WORK
Starlight Children’s Foundation has around 170 Captain Starlights across Australia creating vital moments of fun and happiness for sick kids every day.
Happiness matters to sick kids. Specifically:
- happiness helps sick kids feel more positive, confident and resilient
- happiness helps sick kids cope with the pain of illness and treatment
- happiness helps reduce fear, stress and anxiety.
Alongside the Captain Starlight program in hospital, Starlight also grants Starlight Wishes, creates more positive healthcare experiences in remote communities, supports families with a child in palliative care and has programs for teens in hospital.
SPACE FOR FUN
“The vision for a Starlight Express Room is to create a space with no doctors or nurses, where sick kids and their families can escape from the hospital environment to play, have fun and interact,” explains Nicole McLellan, National Account Manager at Programmed Australia. “I was lucky enough to work for the Starlight Children’s Foundation for 20 years before coming to Programmed, so I’m really passionate about what goes on in the Starlight Express Room.”
The Starlight Express Room at Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick has a range of dedicated spaces for feel-good activities such as face-painting, craft-making, video games, outdoor activities on the balcony, movies and live performances. Kids staying in hospital, their siblings and parents can come any time and choose any activity that helps bring happiness.
MISSION CRITICAL AV
Ken Gamma, Starlight Program Manager, tells us more: “Kids come here from across the hospital to have fun. But not all the kids are able to leave their beds, so the AV systems here in the Starlight Express Room allow us to share everything that’s going on. We have cameras in the ceiling that allow us to broadcast all the day’s activities across the wards. We have a quiz every day, that kids can join by Zoom from their beds. We play music. We do karaoke. We have loads of fun.”
Expertise in piloting a space ship does not extend to expertise in operating a complex AV system. Simon Davis (Technology Systems Integrator at Programmed, the Foundation’s AV integrator for all recent Starlight Express Room builds) targeted simplicity of operation when designing the AV systems for the Starlight Express Room. After all, using the tech should not be as complicated as, well, rocket science.
Simon says: “This is a very flexible space, and each zone has its own requirements for audio, video display, cameras and control. We needed to build a system that’s simple to control – that gives the Captains the freedom to use their creative powers however they want.”
Simon chose the Q-SYS full stack AV portfolio for control, audio distribution and video distribution. Simple GUIs are implemented on a combination of Q-SYS touchscreens and iPads, giving the Captain Starlights the ability to operate the system from the control room or while moving through the space. Q-SYS Reflect provides remote monitoring from Programmed’s mission control room.
QSC loudspeakers are used throughout the Starlight Express Room – a mix of surfacemount and ceiling speakers in various colours according to the exact location. IP ratings allow the same speakers to be used on the balcony, guaranteeing consistency of sound and appearance.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
The Captain Starlights love the AV system in the Starlight Express Room. “It’s a wonderful system because, with the touch of a button, they can turn everything on, change the volume in the room, bring in any sound or vision that they need – anything that the kids want to see and hear. They can beam a video game around the room, play music for a birthday party on the balcony, play something calming and relaxing in the parents’ area, and we can send it all across the hospital to the kids who can’t make it to the room,” explains Ken. “The doctors and nurses know that they must not interrupt Captain Starlight’s quiz in the afternoon. Ward rounds can wait!”
Nicole: “I’ve seen the impact of the work of the Starlight Children’s Foundation from the inside for 20 years. I’ve seen the light in the eyes of the kids as they meet Captain Starlight. I’m so pleased that Programmed and partners like Q-SYS are able to be part of this wonderful work. It really does make hospital a less scary place for sick kids.”
A note from your humble correspondent: The AV.technology team spent a few hours with Captain Starlight and his support crew at Sydney Children’s Hospital. We came away filled with admiration for their resilience, positivity and commitment. The work is hard, but immeasurably beneficial. The AV adds real value every day. We left with smiles on our faces. That doesn’t happen every day.
Programmed: programmed.com.au
TAG (Q-SYS): tag.com.au
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