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When Cabin Fever Strikes, Take a Break from the Cold Snow, ice and very cold temperatures settle in Wisconsin for many months of the year. Parents might not want to send their children out to play in such weather. Still children have lots of energy for play. Indoor playgrounds are one answer. They are warm and dry and have lots of equipment like you find in parks and backyards. They offer many different activities. Several offer a little something for parents, too. " It's really fun," said 5-year-old Ben Steinbacher. He was jumping on one of the inflatables at Monkey Joe's in Waukesha. Christine Sobczak took her 17-month-old grandson Cooper Tsoris to the Big Backyard in New Berlin. " He just needs a place to run around," she said. " Wisconsin winters are awful, so indoor playgrounds are very needed," she added. At least three new indoor playgrounds opened in the greater Milwaukee area since September. Another will open soon. Each offers different equipment Family Fun Land in Germantown has inflatables and a huge soft play set. It also offers games, like those at Chuck E. Cheese. Inflatables became very popular in recent years, so other places got them. Four Milwaukee-area gymnastic centers added large inflatables. The Milwaukee Kickers will add an inflatable castle to its soccer field. " The kids love it," said Ben's dad Michael Steinbacher. " It doesn't wear them out. It wears us out." Climbing, jumping and balancing are good exercise, said Ben's mother Kristine. Weather created demand for indoor playgrounds A number of indoor playgrounds offer more than physical exercise. The Big Backyard plans to hold arts, music, language and other classes through the year. Children's Play Gallery in Delafield is an interactive museum, similar to Milwaukee's Betty Brinn Children's Museum. Some indoor playgrounds are not just for children. Parents can relax in two massage chairs at Monkey Joe's, or they can go to a lounge with leather recliners, flat-screen televisions and computers with Wi-Fi. Many sites in Wisconsin Milwaukee-area indoor playgrounds charge a fee of $4 to $10 per child. Hours are different at each playground. Birthday parties cost from about $100 to $250. For information on indoor playgrounds around Wisconsin, check with your local Chamber of Commerce. Wisconsin Indoor Playgrounds Source: Sources: Lisa Sink. "
Indoor playgrounds take the chill out of Wisconsin winters: Centers springing up across region" The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Jan. 5, 2009, sec. B. pg. 1. http://www.jsonline.com/news/37070209.html |