Tower crane · Ages
Tower crane in Brentwood: is it right for a 10 year old?
What works brilliantly at one age is a shrug at another. Here is how it lands at this one.
Its reach covers a wide slice of the crate, so two children on different machines rarely get in each other way.
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.
How it lands at this age
It is the machine that teaches patience. Rushing makes the cable swing wider, and a swinging line never grabs anything, so children learn to slow their hands down without anybody telling them to.
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.
What to plan for
The crane rewards the child who watches before touching. A few seconds of looking at how the line moves is worth more than a minute of pulling levers.
The tower crane works on a cable rather than a jointed arm. A magnet grab goes down on the line, closes on whatever it lands on, and comes back up - which sounds simple until the line starts swinging.
What parents notice
Older children usually prefer it once the novelty of the excavator has worn off, because getting a clean lift out of it is genuinely harder.
The quietest hour of the week is the first one on a weekday morning in term time. The busiest is Saturday around midday.
Worth knowing
Its reach covers a wide slice of the crate, so two children on different machines rarely get in each other way.
It is the machine that teaches patience. Rushing makes the cable swing wider, and a swinging line never grabs anything, so children learn to slow their hands down without anybody telling them to.
Questions parents ask
How is the crane different from the excavator?
The excavator has a jointed arm that goes where you put it. The crane hangs on a cable, so it swings, and stopping the swing is most of the skill.
Is it too hard for young children?
Younger children enjoy the up and down of it even when they do not manage a grab. Most of the fun is in the line.
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
Plenty of the families in the room on a weekday morning have come from somewhere like Brentwood. Nobody is local to a mall attraction; everybody has driven.
Take the photographs early. The best ones happen in the first fifteen minutes, before anybody is tired.
Agree the leaving time before you walk in, out loud, to the child. Announcing it later sounds like a punishment; agreeing it first sounds like a plan.
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.
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.