A screen free afternoon · Guide
A screen free afternoon in Antioch: everything worth knowing
This is the practical version - what it is, who it suits, what to bring, and what usually happens in the first ten minutes.
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.
A Antioch school holiday runs out of ideas by about day three. This is a day-three answer rather than a day-one one.
What it actually is
Screen free is easy to say on a Saturday morning and hard to do by two in the afternoon.
Nobody has to ban anything. Children put the phone down on their own when the alternative is better.
Who it suits
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.
Two shorter visits teach a child more than one long one. The second time they already know what they want to try, and that is when the good part starts.
What to expect
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.
Screen free is easy to say on a Saturday morning and hard to do by two in the afternoon.
Before you go
Nobody has to ban anything. Children put the phone down on their own when the alternative is better.
Tell a nervous child what is going to happen in the order it will happen. Surprise is the thing they mind, not the activity.
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.
Where is New Life Entertainment?
Two centres: 433 Opry Mills Drive, Nashville TN 37214, and 8111 Concord Mills Blvd, Concord NC 28027.
Planning your visit in Antioch
Nothing about the visit assumes you know the area. The centre is inside Opry Mills, which is signposted from everywhere in Nashville and impossible to miss once you are there.
Feed them first. Every attraction in the world is improved by not being hungry in it.
Bring a snack for afterwards rather than during. Hungry children leave early and full children want to stay.
The nearest of the two centres to Antioch is the one to aim at - Opry Mills in Nashville - and the drive is the ordinary sort rather than an expedition.
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
Anything time critical is worth a phone call first: hours are 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM Monday to Saturday and 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday.