The Emerson Hough fort playground now may be demolished, but kids still can be seen playing outside the preschool facility.

Thanks to a roughly $70,000 gift from the federally funded Drake University Head Start child development program — a program for income restricted families that shares the building and even serves some of the same students enrolled in the Newton Community School District preschool program — a new playground was erected at the end of August.

“They approached us last year and they had some unencumbered funds that they needed to spend, and we were in need of some playground expansion,” said Jim Gilbert, director of elementary educational services, of the partnership.