Things to Do in Anchorage

With its craggy mountains, monochrome tundra, and verdant valleys, Alaska itself stands as a monument to the beauty and power of nature. Focusing on the state's prehistory, the Alaska Museum of Natural History's sprawling collection of artifacts educates the public with engrossing and educational dioramas and displays. Among the museum’s notable exhibits is its newest installation, Ice, which delves into the profound geological changes wrought by the last Ice Age. Likewise, the Schmidt Mine exhibit lets visitors touch and pick up craggy specimens from the collection, including meteorites and fluorescent stones. Ancient mammoth bones and fearsome saber-tooth tiger jaws show patrons the fauna encountered by Alaska's first human inhabitants, whereas fully assembled dinosaur skeletons transport viewers even further back in time, way before the Jurassic Park movie came out.

Air-filled structures within Pump It Up's indoor play-haven offer hours of safe bouncing enjoyment for youngsters two and older. Kids leap around in bounce houses during drop-in pop-in playtime sessions during weekdays, where they interact with other bouncers while getting exercise. An obstacle course adds challenges to their enjoyment, and inflatable slides bring kids back down to earth to start games anew. Pump It Up's space can be rented out for private events, such as birthdays, grade-school graduations, and a kid's first steps on the moon. Not just for children, Pump it Up also hosts teambuilding corporate events for adults and hosts family play times where parents are encouraged to jump along with kids.

Under the expansive white arc of Tanglewood Lakes Golf Dome, bright lights illume 40 indoor driving stalls split between two levels, as well as a PGA Tour golf simulator. Within each stall, golfers swing their own clubs or a set of complimentary loaners as they aim for targets posted at both short and long ranges. The green beneath the targets doubles as an athletic field, which patrons can reserve for soccer, softball, or grazing placid herds of cocker spaniels.

From April through September, baseballs and softballs hurl toward awaiting batters in The Cage's eight outdoor batting cages. As batters warm up, they choose between slow pitch or fast pitch options for softball batting and from four speeds for baseball pitching. Each $1 token grants participants 12 chances to practice their bunting, homering, or pausing balls in midair if they believe hard enough. Monday through Friday from noon to 9 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m., players can visit the facility to work on their batting, stock up on baseball apparel or gloves at the facility's shop, or celebrate a birthday with packages that include cage-rental time, a cake, and a gift for the celebrator.

In a steady procession, waves rear up to 4 feet high before collapsing and delighting waders with blasts of spray. Unlike ocean waves, these aren’t governed by the moon, and they don’t crash against a beach. Instead, they rhythmically rise and fall in the wave pool at H2Oasis Indoor Waterpark, which stays open year-round and is the state’s only indoor water park.

Outside of the wave pool, park visitors can find watery solace floating down the 575-foot lazy river with its gentle current. For a higher-octane experience, the Master Blaster water coaster rockets riders through a splash-filled adventure much safer than riding a scooter into the shower. And when it comes to entertaining the younger set, the four cannons on the park’s pirate ship evoke intrigue on its waters, and the placid children’s lagoon gives tentative youngsters a haven for safe play.

The Anchorage Ballet and its academy have been preserving the art of classical dance since 1997 through a well-rounded curriculum based on the Russian Vaganova method, and has prepared young dancers for international careers with the American Ballet Theatre, the Kirov Academy, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and The Juilliard School. Each student is placed into the appropriate level of classes—which include pointe and pas de deux—according to age, talent, attitude, and musicality. It is through these classes, seasonal performances, and summer camps that the school's skilled teachers and guest instructors teach ballerinas to harmonize the entire body's movements, creating expressive leaps and pirouettes via Vaganova's vision. The academy partners with the Alaska State Council on the Arts, the Atwood Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts to help bring ballet to Alaska's arts community and particularly limber polar bears. The academy won the 2010 award for outstanding arts organization at the Mayor's Arts Award ceremony.