A garden maze with pathways wide enough for wheelchairs. Hospital rooms with a sofa and reclining chair, so mom and dad can stay with a sick child. A private two-room suite, designed for small patients who are at the end of their lives.

Of course, the new Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital also is high-tech, with state-of-the-art operating rooms, infusion bays and complex bedside monitoring systems.

But the gizmos and machines are not what draw in a visitor.

It is the human aspects of the sleek building that are the most compelling, giving a peek behind the curtain of the emotional art of caring for the smallest and most vulnerable patients struck by serious and critical illnesses.

Thus:

• The small white board hanging at the entrance to a patient's room, where the occupant can hang a picture they have created or even a half-joking sign: No doctors allowed!

• The separate play areas for toddlers and teens, so they can get out of their rooms, away from the medicines and tests, and make gingerbread houses or play a game.

• The third-floor green roof, carpeted with plants, over which a wooden walkway leads to a fenced-in area so a child can sit outside in the sunshine — with her IV pole but without having to pass through a lobby full of visitors trying not to stare at her bald head.

Hospital officials Tuesday dedicated the new 72-bed hospital, the latest addition to the growing Hershey Medical Center complex in Dauphin County.

The $207 million, six-floor building officially will open Jan. 14, after patients are moved over from the main medical center.

The hospital's dedication was celebrated with the cutting of a ribbon — made from a paper doll chain — and a ceremony featuring remarks from a host of local and state officials, including Penn State President Rodney Erickson.

Lt. Gov. James Cawley said, "It's a landmark achievement not just for Penn State and not just for the greater Hershey community, but it also marks a significant advance in children's health for the entire commonwealth."

The building was funded by a host of donations, including $10 million from the Penn State Dance Marathon, whose student volunteers are often seen collecting money along county roads at this time of year.

THON helped to fund the hospital's Pediatric Cancer Pavilion, which includes a first-floor outpatient treatment area as well as patient rooms on the third floor.

The focus of the entire facility, which draws patients from 27 counties, including Lancaster, is children and their families. A nature theme is visible on every floor.

In the first-floor entrance area, a wall with large forest murals features small openings where patients and visitors can watch videos about wildlife. The floor is decorated with animal footprints.

A courtyard garden leads off the Treehouse Cafe and features a small maze of walkways where a patient's siblings can blow off steam by running around. Also adjacent to the cafeteria is a performance area, where visiting entertainers can sing or dance or interact with patients and visitors.

But not far away, on the first floor, the hospital gets down to business, with infusion bays, small rooms where patients can get chemotherapy or other treatments.

The second floor features child- and teen-scaled operating rooms, for general, orthopedic, ear-nose-and-throat and other pediatric surgeries; two procedure rooms for endoscopies, biopsies and other procedures; pre-op rooms; and a large recovery area for patients waking up from surgery.

The third and fourth floors hold patient units, including a general medical unit, an intermediate care unit, an intensive care unit and a cancer unit, including an area for bone-marrow transplant patients.

The rooms are all private and feature accommodations for parents that include full bathrooms and a living area with a small cubby for charging and storing electronic devices. There also is a laundry area for families who need to wash their clothes.

Also on these floors are two Hummingbird Suites for pediatric patients facing life-limiting or life-ending medical conditions. The two-room suites allow larger family groups to gather and stay with patients.

The top floor features offices and storage areas.

The hospital has several unusual features, including an elevator with a ceiling that lights up different colors for different floors and a security system that features photo IDs given to all visitors.

And outside, on the front lawn, is a huge, funky, free-form sculpture called "The Promise."

Despite all the hoopla and speeches by government officials at the dedication Tuesday, the focus remained on children.

Claire Brobson, 12, of Dauphin County, received treatment from Hershey Medical Center doctors for leukemia back in 2007.

Tuesday, she toured the new hospital — and made a few suggestions — with her parents, Kevin and Lauren.

Her dad told the crowd at the dedication that Claire will celebrate her third anniversary of being finished with treatments in February.

And that got the loudest applause of all.

cstauffer@lnpnews.com

(Correction: An earlier version of a caption incorrectly identified one of the rooms in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) at Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital.)