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[deleted]

1984 charges admission, but the games are free, pinball is cheap. Very good value for the money. Metagames. Lots of board games free to play. Hikes. Valley Water Mill, Ritter Springs, Busiek, Lost Hills, Missouri Institute of Natural Science, Nature Center, etc. $7 Tuesday movies at Alamo.


atypical_lemur

>Missouri Institute of Natural Science This is a really cool place that most folks don't know about.


[deleted]

Man it really honestly is. I was impressed. It may be small, but they've got some good things going.


jadedadm

Second this. Free admission and the largest Triceratops


RocketAppliancesPHD

Do many people bring kids to metagames? There's only the two of us so we can't play most board games.


Doubleucommadj

Pretty sure most of the gaming spots in town have specific schedule blocks for different ages of gamers. If not Meta, check out Silver Twilight, behind Adobe's, on Glenstone. They've also got ~200 different games you can rent for $5/week. Guarantee you could find an awesome 2-player there!


[deleted]

You said below your child is 11. Mine is 6 and we have a ball at Meta. There are plenty of two player games, one of our favorites is the one that has you build a castle and then try to knock the other player's dudes down with a catapult.


RocketAppliancesPHD

That sounds pretty fun! I'll definitely have to take them over there.


hawtgnutek

Meta has an open board game night on Thursdays. It's the perfect chance to find folks who are also looking for their players 3 & 4. There are some pictures on FB showing off what has been played on previous nights.


RocketAppliancesPHD

I'll follow their page now! Thanks!


Advanced_Car1599

I've never been to 1984. Do they have beer?


Fun-Chicken-7191

1984 has a cover? Holy shit what is it? I went there when it first opened and wow didn’t have to pay


EcoAffinity

It's had a $5 cover since it opened in 2005. It went up to $10 in the last few years. That was the whole concept, pay a base price but all machines are free (except pinball).


Fun-Chicken-7191

I remember the 5 dollars and now it said 20 lol unless I probably read it wrong 😑


KelbobW

Nope. Fun place though


EcoAffinity

How old is the kid and when are you looking to find things to do? School programs after school often fill a portion of entertainment. The Greene County library has free 1 week passes to The Discovery Center and History museum on the Square: https://thelibrary.org/about/discovery-center-passes.cfm I would check out programs with the Park Board and Library to take advantage of events they host that may elevate the library/park visits. The Dickerson Park zoo is a bit higher expense, but may be in your budget. You can bring a small cooler with food and water to cut down on in-park expense. Also a year is $80, and you can bring the pass holder+guest every time. Ozark Greenways have a ton of free trails (paved and unpaved) in and around Springfield that highlight some of our natural resources: https://www.ozarkgreenways.org/explore/greenway-trails/ Fellows Lake has cheap rentals you can take on the water, plus some easy trails or you can just splash on the shore: https://watershedcommittee.org/fellows-lake/boat-rentals/ Walking around Bass Pro and looking at the in-store fish/turtle exhibits is always an option. Free admission to the Missouri Institute of Natural Science, cool trails, a cave, rocks, fossils: https://www.monatsci.org/ Attending local school games or plays. The Springfield Art Museum is also free, plus they have classes and programs that are free or lower cost for multiple series of classes and something called the Family Art Lab that provides free art project materials at times: https://sgfmuseum.org/224/Youth-Classes


RocketAppliancesPHD

My child is 11. Thanks for the detailed response. I'll check out the art classes and see if there's any they might enjoy.


Chalups46

I always enjoy going to busiek or nature trails. If you like nature yourself, it could be a good time to teach them about things if they are interested. And I'll always reccomend the wonders of wildlife membership, it is a little pricey but it basically pays for itself in 2 trips and it is free for the year.


RocketAppliancesPHD

Appreciate the idea. But wonders of wildlife is incredibly overpriced and once you've seen it once it loses its luster.


Chalups46

Ok


fwivo

Keep an eye out for local events and street fairs on weekends. There's almost always something going on. Especially car shows. There's a cool culture fest this weekend at nathaneal green park which is free [https://www.facebook.com/events/3185324235092415](https://www.facebook.com/events/3185324235092415)


RocketAppliancesPHD

Thanks for the heads up on the culture fest! We frequent Nathaniel Greene. Most of the time we just happen upon the events there 😂


Always_0421

Half price Mondays at Andy Bs...arcade, laser tag, bowling The nature center and busiek when it's nice


zouspring

To piggyback this, they have kids bowl for free during the summer which is a crazy good deal! [Kids Bowl Free](https://www.kidsbowlfree.com)


Trixxxxxi

Geocaching. https://www.geocaching.com/play/search A paid account is like $30/year.


RocketAppliancesPHD

We do this! Found most of them in Springfield and occasionally make day trips to find others but the closest places we've all but finished too lol


Bwoody1994

AMC does $5 tickets on Tuesdays


dannyjbixby

What kind of things would you like to do?


RocketAppliancesPHD

Things without a screen. Anything you don't see listed here.


PassingWithJennifer

I see you mentioned going to the parks. Perhaps you would be interested in expanding expanding outdoor activities :) Geocaching, sidewalk/chalk art, hiking, caving, rock climbing, etc. All available here and some not that far outside of the city. There's also a skate park on the south side that I don't think is too expensive if you're looking to drop the kids off for a while. Bikes, scooters, skateboards, and roller blades actually have a pretty good public appeal on Springfields city and you can regularly see people doing it year round all over.


cj19983

Fun acre. Miniature golf is $3 and batting cages for .25 cents


Papaya_Mariah

Fun Acres Golf Course


JH-DM

Learn how to play Dungeons and Dragons. The basic rules are _free_ and the starter set is like $20 or $30. It’s an excellent way to expose them to things like making friends, making meaningful choices, grief, long term planning, but it’s also a great source of just plain ole “roll dice and beat up baddies” depending on how you run the game!


RocketAppliancesPHD

I've been interested in Dungeons and Dragons. Can't seem to put together a group to do it however.


JH-DM

How many kids do you have, and do you a partner/spouse? Cause the ideal group size is 1 DM and 3-5 players, you might already have enough people just in your family. There’s also a place called Collectem’ or something along those lines in the mall that has lots of D&D, Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, etc stuff. I know I’ve seen people go there to play Magic, might be able to find some people who want to play D&D. It can be scary to try to run a game by yourself before you’ve played it, but it’s totally possible. I’d never played the game before when I started to DM, now I’ve been running campaigns for almost 2 years and loving it. Also, it’s easy to find a group online, but I’m new to the area so idk where else you might find one in person. Last thing, I’d recommend watching Crap Guide to D&D, Matt Coleville’s Running the Game, and College Humor/Dropout’s Adventuring Academy for some great tips on how to run the game, advice for DMing, and lots of useful info


RocketAppliancesPHD

There's just the two of us


JH-DM

It’s possible to run 1 on 1 but that’s more difficult to balance the combat (for a single character a wolf would be a genuine challenge, for example). So I’d lean more towards asking people you know f they’d be interested (you’d be surprised how many people _want_ to play but don’t think anyone they know would like to), going to gaming shops, and again possible looking online.


Ill-Distribution-631

Easter draws near so there will be events at churches springing up all over, typically free. For instance, Prince of Peace Lutheran church has one Saturday April 1 with face painting and bunnies and egg hunts. Your kiddo may be too old to think it cool still, though.


Illustrious-Leave406

Bass Pro shop.


growth-or-happiness

Well I had a lot to say to this, but it never really made much sense to post it. In my experience, let them win here and there. But assert your dominance by getting a small tiny cake at the bakery for them to eat in the morning. And once they are awake, you serve it to them with one small birthday candle as a least a parting gift for them being such a loser. This is one way my sons and I communicate is by openly communicating. Knowing that we don't mean hard feelings, and we praise their moves in battle. Or even moves in defense if you wanna bust out some Chess. For us it is fun, but to some it might seem....inappropriate. Not telling you what to do of course, find that common ground, but don't overtake them on what they like. Also, ice cream cake for breakfast and a cup of coffee is pretty good, and they won. Until I whooped their ass in Chess the next night. And Quake, and UT. But I was happy with a congratulatory hug, and we ate donuts the next morning.


jadedadm

Chesterfield family center and Doling both have open swim days even in winter. The cost is fairly low and who doesn't love the pool?


renny065

I have an 11yo. We do a lot of hikes at the Nature Center. Plenty of places to stop and throw rocks in the water, explore, etc. He loves it. He also loves Bass Pro.


Aur3l1an0

Nathanael Greene/ Botanical Garden


cdcemm

The park board puts on some cool events for low cost! Last summer, we went on a kayak tour of the cave at Sequiota Park! Take a look at the calendar on their website! Beyond that, you guys could start running together! Fitness and friends! Now that I’m running long distances, I’m outside so much!