Pump It Up

By Kirby Adams

My nephew's birthday invitation read: "You must wear socks." And so shod in three clean sets, Ellie , Jordan and I headed off to the celebration at Pump It Up.

If you are looking for a great way to keep the kids active this summer, especially on a hot or rainy day there are a few facilities like Pump It Up and Puzzles Fun Dome that offer indoor activities. No one sure about what would go on at Pump It Up.  All I had heard was about the inflatable play areas inside a building off Stanley Gault Parkway .

Pump It Up is a franchise started in California and now has spread across the country.  One of the reasons for the popularity says Louisville franchise owner, Caroline Harper, is the healthy alternative Pump It Up allows parents. Rather than sitting through another movie or walking through a museum, Harper encourages everyone to take part in her inflatable party zone. 

When we arrived we found our party well in motion inside one of the two identical gymnasium-sized rooms, each with three enormous inflatable play structures.  Adults are encouraged to get in and become part of the action right alongside the kids.  By the time Ellie and Jordan pulled off their shoes and had made it through the obstacle course a time or two, I found myself slipping through rubber archways and scrambling up a soft-sided wall, racing the girls through the course.

I'll admit I was glad for the socks as I skid face first through the last of the rubber slides.  One parent was scolded for not wearing her socks. (They are big on not spreading foot fungus.)

It's great that the adults are encouraged to jump, race and even get into the boxing ring with their kids.  The boxing ring, by the way, is hysterical.  You wear oversized boxing gloves that look like they came out of a Saturday morning cartoon.  You bounce around in the inflatable cage and try (I repeat, "try") to make contact. Harper says the facility is also used for adult team building.

The inflatable party zone isn't just used for private events.  There are certain mornings during the week when the arenas are open for general play.  It's a nice alternative to staying inside and watching TV on a rainy summer day.  That's the point after all, to provide a place for your kids to be active and to enjoy bouncing and tumbling around together.  While it's not all about health, as I mentioned, they serve cake, ice cream and sodas. At least we burned off calories in the inflatable bounce house, zipping down the inflatable slide, tumbling over the inflatable obstacle course and worked our biceps in the inflatable boxing and jousting arenas.

For anyone who is thinking about field trips this summer or next fall, Pump It Up is teaming up with Velocity Sports and teaching kids about healthy lifestyles including physical activity and nutrition. Degreed and certified coaches from Velocity Sports Performance will instruct kids and their families that fitness and health do not have to be dreaded or too structured.  They can be fun and easy.

Pump It Up is located at 2700 Stanley Gault Parkway .  Their number is 244-1016 or visit their website www.pumpitupparty.com.

Another great place for active kids is Puzzles Fun Dome, which also offers birthday parties plus inflatable, rock climbing, cosmic hoops, an art studio, masterpiece theater, an arcade, an imagination station, mini golf and Noble Roman's Pizzeria.   Puzzles Fun Dome also presents edu-tainment programs, which teach kids about a number of health and fitness issues in a fun environment. Puzzles has a large banquet room, birthday party rooms and a parent lounge. Unlike Pump It Up, Puzzles Fun Dome is open daily. Monday-Thursday 10 a.m.-9 pm; Friday 10 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m.-9 p.m. You can read more www.puzzlesfundome.com or call 261-7144.  Puzzles Fun Dome is located at 11530 Bluegrass Parkway .

Note from Publisher : We took our grandkids to Puzzles Fun Dome when they were in town visiting. They played non-stop for three hours. We were exhausted trying to keep up with them. They jumped, tumbled and climbed all over the inflatables. They also painted in the art studio and played mini golf.

Kirby Adams is the consumer reporter for Kentuckiana's News Channel WHAS-11, Team Captain for Team Crusade and a sports and fitness buff. You can e-mail Kirby at kirby.adams@whas11.com. Kirby is also a member of Kentuckiana HealthFitness' Editorial Advisory Board.

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Kirby Adams
WHAS-TV
520 West Chestnut Street
Louisville , KY 40202