Tower crane · Tips
Tower crane in Franklin: practical tips
Small changes that make a visit go better, learned the ordinary way.
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.
Plenty of the families in the room on a weekday morning have come from somewhere like Franklin. Nobody is local to a mall attraction; everybody has driven.
Before you leave the house
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.
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.
When you arrive
Its reach covers a wide slice of the crate, so two children on different machines rarely get in each other way.
Count on the drive home being the conversation. Children tell you what they actually thought about twenty minutes after leaving.
While you are there
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 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.
On the way home
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 quietest hour of the week is the first one on a weekday morning in term time. The busiest is Saturday around midday.
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 Franklin
Families searching from Franklin 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.
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.
Tell a nervous child what is going to happen in the order it will happen. Surprise is the thing they mind, not the activity.
If Franklin 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
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.