Papier-mache, flowers and streamers will give way to swing sets, slides and monkey bars as a group of ISU students try to provide some childhood fun this spring — Veishea or no Veishea.

Leaders INspiring Connections, a student-run organization, is planning a community playground revitalization in replacement of Veishea.

On April 16, more than 300 students and community members will be participating in three 24-hour playground builds throughout Ames. The playgrounds will be open for children to play on the afternoon of April 17.

The three playgrounds are located at Gateway Park, 1500 Gateway Hills Park Drive; Town Park, 826 Douglas Ave.; and North River Valley Park Softball Complex, 1015 E. 13th St.

“It started out as a replacement for the floats, but it grew to be much more,” said Eric Peterson, LINC community involvement co-chairman.

LINC went to Ames City Council members to determine the locations of the playgrounds. The council recommended three wooden playgrounds that were considered safety risks.

“The city was planning on replacing these playgrounds, but it wasn’t on their timeline,” Peterson said. “They said it was a great project for us.”

LINC builders talked to children in the area surrounding the playgrounds to make sure they designed features that the children actually wanted, Peterson said.

“We put in things they thought would be fun — like tunnels, slides, rope walls and steering wheels,” said Christy Adrianse, Kappa Kappa Gamma co-chairwoman.

On build day there will be at least 100 volunteers on each site with a director overseeing the projects, including volunteers who will also clean up the parks, Andrianse said.

Each playground has four sororities or fraternities assigned to it for fund raising and playground design, as well as a title sponsor that has donated $5,000, Peterson said. First National Bank sponsored the North River Valley Park and Sauer-Danfoss sponsored the Gateway Park. Town Park does not yet have a sponsor.

Each playground’s base cost is $15,000, with money raised through fund raising and donations, Peterson said. Each playground pairing was responsible for raising $4,000, most of which was given from Veishea float funds set aside by each greek house involved in the build-off, Andrainse said.

The city of Ames gave LINC $9,000 in addition to agreeing to prepare each site, which includes leveling and post hole digging. The city will also be responsible for maintaining the playgrounds. Iowa State gave $1,000, and local home owner’s associations and other contributors donated $2,000.

Alumni have chosen to get involved, as well.

Landscape Structures, a Delano, Minn.-based playground manufacturer, started by two ISU alumni, is providing the materials for all three playgrounds, and Rick Ertz, sales representative for Outdoor Recreation Products in Ames and an ISU alumnus, has also been working closely with LINC over playground design.

“We wanted to repair relations with the city. Community members didn’t think that highly of students after the riot, and we wanted to change that,” Peterson said.