Even though temperatures are dropping, the children living in University Village and Schilletter Village may want to head outdoors this weekend to test their new playground equipment.

Chris Fowler, coordinator of resident education programs, said if all goes according to plan, three new playgrounds in the University Student Apartment Community should be completed by the end of the week.

“With the large number of toddlers and young children we have in USAC, it is a great way to build community for the residents and to have a play area close to where they live,” Fowler said.

The trucks with the new equipment arrived Monday and began installation Tuesday at the large playground on the east side of University Village.

Fowler said work will continue just east of the University Village laundry facilities with a small area for toddlers.

Next they will replace the current wooden structure in Schilletter Village.

A committee was formed last fall to evaluate the safety of the old equipment and its compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Fowler said.

After surveying the facilities, committee members found the surfacing on the playground was unsafe, the old spring horses pinched small fingers and the wooden structures at the Schilletter Village site gave many children splinters.

“The old playground equipment was completely outdated and highly unsafe,” said Jennifer Russo, family advocate for USAC and resident of Schilletter Village. “No splinters will be such a treat.”

The new equipment for all three playgrounds came from Premier Playground and Little Tykes at a total cost of $82,227 with installation. The project was funded by the Department of Residence.

Now, instead of old rocking horses, merry-go-rounds and swings, the children can entertain themselves on spiral, double-wide and triple-wide slides, curly climbers, crawl tunnels, clatter bridges and bubble mirrors, Fowler said.

The equipment in University Village is made of galvanized steel painted in red, green and blue; the set in Schilletter Village is forest green and tan.

Russo, a resident of Schilletter Village, is looking forward to a closer-knit community because of the superior equipment.

“The playgrounds tend to be a meeting place and a hangout in the summer,” she said. “It will be a pleasure to go with your children where it is safe and clean and maybe meet some families.”