A screen free afternoon · Story
A screen free afternoon in Matthews: a visit described
The ordinary version of a visit, without the marketing gloss.
Screen free is easy to say on a Saturday morning and hard to do by two in the afternoon.
Families around Matthews 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.
Walking in
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.
Nobody has to ban anything. Children put the phone down on their own when the alternative is better.
The middle of the visit
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.
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.
The last ten minutes
Screen free is easy to say on a Saturday morning and hard to do by two in the afternoon.
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.
What sticks
Nobody has to ban anything. Children put the phone down on their own when the alternative is better.
Take the phone out of your pocket before they start rather than after. The moment worth filming is usually the first one.
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 Matthews
Parents from Matthews tend to ask the same first question: how long will this hold their attention. Long enough to be worth the drive, and short enough to leave while they still want more.
Photograph the machine as well as the child. In two years you will have forgotten what the room looked like.
Bring less than you think. Coats and bags are the part of the visit nobody enjoys managing.
The drive back to Matthews is where you find out what they actually thought. Children review an outing about twenty minutes after leaving it, never during.
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.