It is a very hot, humid, and stormy day here in Indiana so my son, niece, nephew, and I decided to head to the bowling alley for some FREE bowling and a sneak peek behind the pins too!
Summer Fun-FREE Bowling
We headed over to our local bowling alley to take advantage of the FREE bowling program for kids. With this great program each child can bowl 2 free games every day through the summer. To read Wizard Lisa’s article about this FREE program you can click here.
Having a Plan
I decided yesterday to call ahead to the bowling alley ahead of time and inquire about getting a sneak peek behind the pins. It’s something the kids have asked about and one of the things I had put on our Summer Fun List. It was definitely a good idea to call in advance, as the manager told me they had big groups coming in the afternoon time. She then invited us to come in the morning time shortly after they opened. This way it wouldn’t be as busy. She told me that she would be more than happy to have one of the mechanics show the kids behind the pins and how it works back there.
Let The Fun Begin
When we arrived the mechanic had run an errand, so we decided to bowl a game first. We simply handed the vouchers that I printed off from the FREE bowling program, paid for the shoe rental and we were headed for our lane. The kids in my family love bowling. A couple of them choose to use bumpers still, even though I really don’t think they need too. Haha! We bowled the first whole game and the kids had a blast!
Sneak Peek Behind The Pins
We were just about finished with the first game when the mechanic approached us to let us know he was back. We finished up the last frame and headed behind the pins. I think that I was just as curious as the kids were!
The mechanic led us to back behind the pins and there was a line of clunky, gray, metal machines. The two lanes we were behind were not being used, so he turned them on so the kids could see them in action. We were all surprised how loud it was, and it was in constant motion.
We got to see the pin machine in action standing up the pins after they were knocked down, and them shuffling to get in order. He also showed us the ball return machine. He showed us how he can tell when there is a ball stuck or pin stuck by watching for red warning lights that are on the top of each machine. This mechanic has worked there since the bowling alley opened up 10 years ago. He was very friendly, knowledgeable, and very good at answering questions. Of course the kids always have something to say until we get back there. Then it was like they were shy all the sudden. I did the majority of the question asking since it seemed they forgot all their questions. Haha!
As we were walking back to bowl our second game, my nephew turned to me and said, “it wasn’t exciting as I thought it would be.” I laughed, then he laughed. I thought to myself I wonder what they expected? Maybe a more glamorous scene? I love doing things like this with the kids because it gives them an in-depth look at how something works and they realize what goes into something that they love-bowling. When we got back to our lane they told their Grandma all about seeing behind the pins. Maybe it wasn’t what they expected, but they still enjoyed themselves, and learned something new!
To read more ideas for Summer Fun check out my past articles:
Kids Summer Activities Part One-The Summer Fun House
Kids Summer Activities Part Two-Summer Fun In Your Community
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