Mumbai for kids: Trampoline Park

Kids

Thousand square feet of jumping space is a child's dream come true. If you walk into Smaaash's Trampoline Park (TP) and look in at the mix of people inside the park - there are as many adults jumping up and down - you would feel that it could be the dream of many kids as well as many (not-so) grown-ups too. The team at Smaaash has something new in their space every six months. While there are some new additions in the space from the last time we were here, it is the Trampoline Park that everyone seems to be making a beeline to.

One corner of the TP has a basket and large groups can play basketball if they wish. Another corner of the park is a foam dive which works like a ball pool where all and sundry can run and dive into. Be careful how far you leap because the foam pool can be so sinkingly soft that getting out is hard - physically and emotionally.

Smaaash had organised trampoline dancing at the TP where an instructor with a microphone managed to get the kids to follow his groove. Ten minutes of choreographed moves on a bouncy floor and the kids were red-faced and sweating with exertion. Apparently jumping 10 minutes on the trampoline is equivalent to 30 minutes on the treadmill and is known to help kids develop balance, coordination and strength.

Pics/ Bipin Kokate

Ideal for children from the age group of four to 12 years, the TP had several jumping areas spread across 1,500 sq feet. A number of individual trampolines have been connected together to make a massive trampoline that has 45-degree-angle matted walls. There is something about a trampoline that is infectious. Ten minutes and no one was ready to stop. Adults joined in and everyone was doing a trampoline dance of their own making. We noted that Smaaash attendants were around to prevent accidents and also to remind participants that their paid slots were about to expire.

Once you are out of TP, do check some of the new virtual gaming equipment at the premise. There is Nitro Wheelie, a dirt bike game based on a platform that boasts of six-degree freedom. It's a virtual game where you get astride a bike, place a racing helmet on and go virtual racing. With 'War on Wheels', you sit astride a jeep and are handed a gun and the enemy is a zombie team. The screen moves, making you feel like you are moving and you get to destroy the attacking zombies. In Dodgeball, you dodge balls thrown by your opponent - the ball-throwing machine.

Rating: 3.5/5

The kids didn't want to leave. I had to drag them out, with the promise to return soon.

Smaaash didn't know we were there.

The guide reviews anonymously and pays for visits.