Tower crane · Ages
Tower crane with a 9 year old in Hermitage
What works brilliantly at one age is a shrug at another. Here is how it lands at this one.
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.
Weekends bring more of Hermitage out at once. If the schedule allows a weekday, take it; the same visit is quieter and the machines wait for nobody in particular.
How it lands at this age
Its reach covers a wide slice of the crate, so two children on different machines rarely get in each other way.
Warn a nervous child about the noise before you walk in. Knowing what to expect is most of the difference between anxious and curious.
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.
Photograph the machine as well as the child. In two years you will have forgotten what the room looked like.
Worth knowing
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.
Its reach covers a wide slice of the crate, so two children on different machines rarely get in each other way.
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.
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.
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 Hermitage
Parents from Hermitage tend to ask the same first question: how long will this hold their attention. Long enough to be worth the drive, and short enough to leave while they still want more.
Take the phone out of your pocket before they start rather than after. The moment worth filming is usually the first one.
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.
Coming in from Hermitage with more than one child, the useful thing to know is that the room does not need to be rationed - there is more than one thing to do at the same time.
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
Questions about a specific day, a group or a party are best asked directly - info@newlife-entertainment.com, or either of the numbers on the contacts page.