HeyDay New Ropes Courses Among Summer Fun Options
BY JAMES S. TYREE Oklahoman
Published: June 9, 2010
NORMAN — Summer vacation has just started and Eric and Andrea Hanson’s three kids have already reached the ends of their rope.
Emily Hanson, 13, tries to keep her balance on the ropes course at Hey Day Family Fun Center in Norman. PHOTOS BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN
That’s OK, they’ll just turn and walk another portion of Hey Day Family Fun Center’s ropes course, which is laid out 12 feet above the facility’s floor. “It’s the whole reason we’re here,” Andrea Hanson, of south Oklahoma City, said of the suspended ropes. “It’s awesome because it’s physical activity; I like that it requires some exercise.” Brian Burks, Hey Day’s entertainment and program manager, said the course is the first in Oklahoma at a for-profit facility and is patterned after a larger one used by the Tulsa School District. All participants are tethered to harnesses and there are courses with varying levels of difficulty, all for safety.
“It is a lot of fun but after you do it, you’ll feel like you’ve been working out,” Burks said. The ropes course and other attractions at Hey Day, off Indian Hills Road and Interstate 35 near the Moore-Norman border, offer just a few ideas for summer fun.
While Hey Day has ropes, Andy Alligator’s Fun Park, across the street from Hey Day, has “The Rock,” which is a 32-foot climbing experience for kids and adults weighing from 40 to 250 pounds. Both facilities, along with Perfect Swing near State Highway 9 east of U.S. 77 in south Norman, provide an array of indoor and outdoor activities that, depending on the business, ranges from go-kart racing, and miniature golf to arcade games.
In addition, the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History has a full schedule of workshops and activities for kids and teenagers, and low-cost swimming is available at Norman’s Westwood Park and Moore’s Fairmoore Park.
Norman and the south metro area also have many free activities available. The Norman Public Library’s Summer Reading Program includes visits from performing artists, and both University of Oklahoma museums have free days — every Tuesday at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art and the first Monday of the month at the Sam Noble museum.
There also are splashpads galore, including 16 throughout Oklahoma City, two in Norman at Andrews Park near downtown and Colonial Estates Park at 1641 E Lindsey St., and one at Moore’s Apple Valley Park.
And for summer fun at home, Sonya Meier of the Cleveland County Extension Service has composed a lengthy list of ideas that range from planning neighborhood Olympics to creative craft ideas. For more information, call Meier at 321-4774.