Ball pit · First time
Ball pit in Franklin: what happens the first time
The first time is the one that decides whether there is a second time, so it is worth getting right.
The crate the machines dig in is a proper ball pit - a deep bed of plastic balls, not a token layer over a hard floor. It is what makes a scoop worth watching.
If Franklin 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 first ten minutes
Balls behave like a liquid until they do not. Dig a hole and the sides slump back in, which is exactly the physics children spend twenty minutes exploring without calling it physics.
The colour is half the appeal. A bucket coming up full is a bucket full of red, yellow, blue and green, and it photographs well from the rail.
What children do first
A pit this size means the surface is never the same twice. Every scoop leaves a dent and every dent changes where the next one goes.
If one child is nervous, let them watch for the first ten minutes without being asked to join in. Almost all of them join in.
What usually goes wrong
For younger visitors the pit alone is the attraction. Some never touch a machine and leave perfectly happy.
The crate the machines dig in is a proper ball pit - a deep bed of plastic balls, not a token layer over a hard floor. It is what makes a scoop worth watching.
Making the second visit better
Balls behave like a liquid until they do not. Dig a hole and the sides slump back in, which is exactly the physics children spend twenty minutes exploring without calling it physics.
Bring a snack for afterwards rather than during. Hungry children leave early and full children want to stay.
Questions parents ask
How deep is the pit?
Deep enough for a bucket to disappear into it - the machines dig rather than skim.
Do children go into the pit themselves?
The machines work the crate from the rail. Follow the instructions the staff give on the day.
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.
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.
Planning your visit in Franklin
Coming in from Franklin with more than one child, the useful thing to know is that the room does not need to be rationed - there is more than one thing to do at the same time.
Tell a nervous child what is going to happen in the order it will happen. Surprise is the thing they mind, not the activity.
Weekday afternoons in term time are the quietest slot in the week. Weekend middays are the busiest.
A Franklin 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
Questions about a specific day, a group or a party are best asked directly - info@newlife-entertainment.com, or either of the numbers on the contacts page.