A screen free afternoon · Occasion
A screen free afternoon for a half term day in Midland
Same attraction, different day, different set of things to sort out beforehand.
Nobody has to ban anything. Children put the phone down on their own when the alternative is better.
Weekends bring more of Midland out at once. If the schedule allows a weekday, take it; the same visit is quieter and the machines wait for nobody in particular.
Why it fits the occasion
What replaces a screen has to be more interesting than a screen, which rules out most of the obvious answers. A machine a child actually controls is one of the few that works.
Screen free is easy to say on a Saturday morning and hard to do by two in the afternoon.
How the day runs
The feedback loop is the same one games use - do a thing, see a result, adjust - except it happens with hands, in a room, with other people watching.
Weekday afternoons in term time are the quietest slot in the week. Weekend middays are the busiest.
What to arrange first
Nobody has to ban anything. Children put the phone down on their own when the alternative is better.
What replaces a screen has to be more interesting than a screen, which rules out most of the obvious answers. A machine a child actually controls is one of the few that works.
Small things that help
Screen free is easy to say on a Saturday morning and hard to do by two in the afternoon.
Bring a snack for afterwards rather than during. Hungry children leave early and full children want to stay.
Questions parents ask
Is there screen time involved?
The machines are levers and cables. The ice is ice.
How do I get in touch?
By phone on +1 (424) 387-6232 or +1 (615) 968-4925, or by e-mail at info@newlife-entertainment.com.
What are the opening hours?
10:00 AM to 8:00 PM Monday to Saturday, and 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday.
Planning your visit in Midland
A Midland school holiday runs out of ideas by about day three. This is a day-three answer rather than a day-one one.
Take the photographs early. The best ones happen in the first fifteen minutes, before anybody is tired.
Let the child choose what to do first even when it is the thing you would have chosen last. The order matters less than the choosing.
If Midland is home, this is the sort of place you end up returning to rather than ticking off. That changes what a first visit is worth planning around.
The practical details
- XCAV ZONE — 433 Opry Mills Drive, Nashville TN 37214: four child-operated machines over a ball pit.
- ICE PARK — 8111 Concord Mills Blvd, Concord NC 28027: a real rink with bumper cars on the ice.
- Opening hours — 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM Monday to Saturday, 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday.
- Phone — +1 (424) 387-6232 · +1 (615) 968-4925
- E-mail — info@newlife-entertainment.com
The two centres are at 433 Opry Mills Drive in Nashville and 8111 Concord Mills Blvd in Concord, open 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM most days and 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday.