Group visit · Seasonal
Group visit in autumn in Madison
Same room, different month, different day out.
Teachers get an activity where children take turns without being told to, because the machines and the cars enforce turns by existing in limited numbers.
A Madison school holiday runs out of ideas by about day three. This is a day-three answer rather than a day-one one.
Why this time of year
Group visits are worth arranging in advance so the centre knows how many are coming and when - a call does it.
For a class group the appeal is that the activity explains itself. No briefing, no equipment to hand out, no rules that take ten minutes to teach.
What changes
It works as a reward trip, an end of term outing, or the indoor half of a day that has an outdoor half somewhere else.
A short visit that ends while they still want more beats a long one that ends in a meltdown, every time.
What to wear
Teachers get an activity where children take turns without being told to, because the machines and the cars enforce turns by existing in limited numbers.
Group visits are worth arranging in advance so the centre knows how many are coming and when - a call does it.
Planning around it
For a class group the appeal is that the activity explains itself. No briefing, no equipment to hand out, no rules that take ten minutes to teach.
Do not schedule anything immediately afterwards. An hour of concentrated play is tiring in a way that shows up in the car park, not in the room.
Questions parents ask
Can school groups visit?
Call ahead and arrange it: +1 (615) 968-4925 or info@newlife-entertainment.com.
Is it educational?
Working an arm on levers is hand eye coordination, cause and effect and patience, whatever you call it on the form.
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.
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 Madison
The nearest of the two centres to Madison is the one to aim at - Opry Mills in Nashville - and the drive is the ordinary sort rather than an expedition.
Weekday afternoons in term time are the quietest slot in the week. Weekend middays are the busiest.
Photograph the machine as well as the child. In two years you will have forgotten what the room looked like.
If Madison 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 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.