Casey Gurley, a fourth grader at Idalou I.S.D and his younger sister, Hannah, have some advice for other kids spending their summer days out on the playgrounds.

“We drink a lot of water and stay in the shade every now and then,” said Gurley. “What else do we do, Hannah?”

“Play a lot!” 

And while pools and playgrounds are fun places to enjoy what remains of the summer vacation, it’s important do so safely by staying adequately hydrated, wearing sunscreen and finding shade to play in. 

Dr. Jennifer Vanos, an assistant professor in the Department of Geosciences at the Texas Tech University Climate Science Center led a team of researchers from Tech and Arizona State University to explore the dangers of extremely hot playground equipment during the summer months. 

“The potential heat stress that could be experienced by a child while they’re playing – and we want them to be playing actively and getting the physical activity they need – gets really high,” said Vanos. 

Dr. Vanos and her team found that some pieces of playground equipment can reach near boiling temperatures in the middle of the day and that there are reports of children sustaining second-degree burns from slides and monkey bars that are too hot. 
 
“That heat  from those unnatural surfaces just radiates up towards kids and the core of the kid is a lot closer to the ground than an adult,” said Vanos. “Any unnatural material that’s used in a playground such as plastic, or metal or artificial turf that’s all going to heat up a lot quicker than a natural surface.”
 
She suggests playing in wood chips or grass is far better during the day, but says it would be best if children played beneath trees or in playground areas with shaded sails, something she believes the city of Lubbock could use more of. 
 
“If we can shade these surfaces and the surfaces aren’t so hot and they’re not radiating so much heat towards the child then the potential for heat stress is much lower, and kids can play actively for longer which is what we want from playgrounds essentially.” 
 
That way, children like Hannah and Casey will have more parks to pick from to play in where they won’t have to worry about burning their hands or feet. 
 
“Because we don’t want to get sunburns or anything like that!” said Casey. 
 
If you would like to read more about the study Dr. Vanos led, click here.