Grabber crane · Ages
Grabber crane with a 3 year old in East Nashville
What works brilliantly at one age is a shrug at another. Here is how it lands at this one.
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.
Parents from East Nashville 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.
How it lands at this age
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.
A short visit that ends while they still want more beats a long one that ends in a meltdown, every time.
What to plan for
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.
Set against the other three, it is the machine that most rewards a plan: pick the spot, get the claw there, then close.
What parents notice
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.
Check the day of the week against the closing time before you leave. Sunday finishes earlier than the rest of the week and catches people out.
Worth knowing
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.
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.
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 East Nashville
A East Nashville school holiday runs out of ideas by about day three. This is a day-three answer rather than a day-one one.
Bring a snack for afterwards rather than during. Hungry children leave early and full children want to stay.
Tell a nervous child what is going to happen in the order it will happen. Surprise is the thing they mind, not the activity.
Families searching from East Nashville are usually weighing one thing: whether it is worth the trip for an hour of something the children have not done before. The honest answer is that it depends on the child, and the rest of this page is about telling which.
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.