Group visit · Compare
Group visit in Brentwood, or something else?
There is no shortage of indoor options. The useful question is which one suits your particular child.
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.
From Brentwood the practical question is timing rather than distance. Arriving in the first hour after opening is worth more than shaving minutes off the drive.
What it does differently
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.
Bring a spare layer even in summer. Malls are air conditioned, rinks are colder than that, and a cold child is a child who wants to go home.
Where other options win
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.
How to decide
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.
Photograph the machine as well as the child. In two years you will have forgotten what the room looked like.
The short version
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.
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.
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.
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 Brentwood
A Brentwood school holiday runs out of ideas by about day three. This is a day-three answer rather than a day-one one.
The quietest hour of the week is the first one on a weekday morning in term time. The busiest is Saturday around midday.
Warn a nervous child about the noise before you walk in. Knowing what to expect is most of the difference between anxious and curious.
Families around Brentwood 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.
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.