Group visit · Occasion
Group visit in Hermitage: planning a rainy weekend around it
The occasion changes the planning more than the activity does, so this is mostly about the planning.
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.
Families searching from Hermitage 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.
Why it fits the occasion
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.
Take the photographs early. The best ones happen in the first fifteen minutes, before anybody is tired.
How the day runs
Group visits are worth arranging in advance so the centre knows how many are coming and when - a call does it.
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.
What to arrange first
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.
Small things that help
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.
Group visits are worth arranging in advance so the centre knows how many are coming and when - a call does it.
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.
Where is New Life Entertainment?
Two centres: 433 Opry Mills Drive, Nashville TN 37214, and 8111 Concord Mills Blvd, Concord NC 28027.
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.
Planning your visit in Hermitage
A Hermitage school holiday runs out of ideas by about day three. This is a day-three answer rather than a day-one one.
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.
If two children are visiting together, plan for them to split up. Doing different things in the same room is the point of a room with different things in it.
If you are coming from Hermitage, treat it as a cross-town outing rather than a day trip. Go with a return time in mind and the day stays easy.
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
Anything time critical is worth a phone call first: hours are 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM Monday to Saturday and 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday.