Grabber crane · Local
Grabber crane near Old Hickory
If you are searching from Old Hickory, this is the practical answer.
The grabber crane has the longest boom of the four machines and a claw on the line, so it reaches the far side of the crate where the balls pile up.
The drive back to Old Hickory is where you find out what they actually thought. Children review an outing about twenty minutes after leaving it, never during.
Getting there
Set against the other three, it is the machine that most rewards a plan: pick the spot, get the claw there, then close.
If it is the first time, do not also make it a birthday. Learning a place and celebrating in it are two different visits.
What you will find
Long reach means small movements at the controls turn into big movements at the claw. Children work that out fast and start moving in smaller and smaller nudges.
It is the machine parents underestimate. The long boom looks unwieldy from outside the rail and turns out to be the one children queue for twice.
How long to allow
The grabber crane has the longest boom of the four machines and a claw on the line, so it reaches the far side of the crate where the balls pile up.
Weekday afternoons in term time are the quietest slot in the week. Weekend middays are the busiest.
Worth the trip?
Set against the other three, it is the machine that most rewards a plan: pick the spot, get the claw there, then close.
Long reach means small movements at the controls turn into big movements at the claw. Children work that out fast and start moving in smaller and smaller nudges.
Questions parents ask
What makes the boom different?
It is longer than the others, so it covers the far side of the crate and reacts to smaller inputs.
Can two children use machines at the same time?
The machines stand around the same crate and reach different parts of it, so more than one can run at once.
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 Old Hickory
Parents from Old Hickory 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.
Let the child lead the order of things. Adults optimise; children choose the thing that looks best, and they are right more often than they are wrong.
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.
A Old Hickory 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
If a visit needs planning around a date, a group or a long drive, the centre is easiest to reach by phone: +1 (424) 387-6232 or +1 (615) 968-4925.