Group visit · Tips
Group visit in Hermitage: practical tips
The things nobody tells you until you have done it twice.
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.
Nothing about the visit assumes you know the area. The centre is inside Opry Mills, which is signposted from everywhere in Nashville and impossible to miss once you are there.
Before you leave the house
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.
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.
When you arrive
Group visits are worth arranging in advance so the centre knows how many are coming and when - a call does it.
Take the phone out of your pocket before they start rather than after. The moment worth filming is usually the first one.
While you are there
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.
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.
On the way home
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 less than you think. Coats and bags are the part of the visit nobody enjoys managing.
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.
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
The nearest of the two centres to Hermitage is the one to aim at - Opry Mills in Nashville - and the drive is the ordinary sort rather than an expedition.
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.
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.
A Hermitage 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
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.