Kid patients visit zoo thanks to Google Glass

Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston recently gave some unwell kids, who are unable to leave the hospital, the opportunity to virtually “visit” the Houston Zoo with Google Glass.

The Houston Zoo, who signed up with the Google Glass Explorer program, allowed the kids to see the animals with the children wearing Google Glass and participating in a “double Glass Hangout” with zoo employees.

This allows children to not only “visit” the zoo but go behind the scenes with zookeepers to get an up-close look at the animals.

“It gave my son a chance to feel like he was a normal kid,” said the mother of a 6-year-old boy with diabetes who was one of the first children to participate in the program. “He was able to see the zoo — what’s a greater thing than that?”

The hospital, which is located across the street form the Houston Zoo, says it will continue to find new ways to use Google Glass to help patients.