A screen free afternoon · Occasion
A screen free afternoon in Harrisburg — a rainy weekend, sorted
The occasion changes the planning more than the activity does, so this is mostly about the planning.
Nobody has to ban anything. Children put the phone down on their own when the alternative is better.
Nothing about the visit assumes you know the area. The centre is inside Concord Mills, which is signposted from everywhere in Concord and impossible to miss once you are there.
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.
Photograph the machine as well as the child. In two years you will have forgotten what the room looked like.
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.
Screen free is easy to say on a Saturday morning and hard to do by two in the afternoon.
What to arrange first
Nobody has to ban anything. Children put the phone down on their own when the alternative is better.
Bring less than you think. Coats and bags are the part of the visit nobody enjoys managing.
Small things that help
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.
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.
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 Harrisburg
Families around Harrisburg who have done it once tend to plan the second visit differently: shorter, earlier in the day, and with the machine the child liked in mind.
If two children are visiting together, plan for them to split up. Doing different things in the same room is the point of a room with different things in it.
Decide how long you are staying before you walk in. A visit with an end time attached to it finishes on a good note rather than a tired one.
A Harrisburg school holiday runs out of ideas by about day three. This is a day-three answer rather than a day-one one.
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.