Extreme playground aims to attract tweens

While not exactly an off-the-shelf item, U.K. playground and sports equipment manufacturer SMP has come out with a souped up line of playground equipment whose style may just trickle down to smaller home versions of the product. The company is hoping it can entice tweens back to the playground with the Nexus activity system – it definitely isn’t your average preschooler’s swing set. The line has a high-tech modern look, sliding poles, climbers, perches, hammock nets, rock faces and sliding rails all meant to evoke the extreme sports older kids aspire to perform. Already installed in Europe, the Nexus playgrounds are being launched in the U.S. market and three variations are available: Nexus Core, Nexus Velocity, Velocity Rock Climb N’ Slide and Nexus Whizzer.