Things to Do in Arnold

The Class AA Minor League Baseball Affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, the Bowie Baysox won their first division title in 2008. Managed by Brad Komminsk, the team plays at Prince George's Stadium in Bowie, Maryland. Take your pick from 33 non-Saturday-night games.

Across 5,000 square feet and two levels of obstacle-laden territory, taggers crouch around corners, rain lightning from the towers, and blend in with the dense vapor of the king's electric fog machine. During each 15-minute round, young squires can defend the keep for themselves or align with fellow beam archers in the name of the queen, the fiefdom, or love. To the victor go the bragging rights and a seat at the round table at home for family taco night.

At the Maryland Drafts and Laughs Festival, attendees sample suds from taps dispensing more than 50 craft and imported brews. As festival-goers make their way among breweries such as Port City and Yuengling, they can break for comic relief at one of five standup shows. There, regional comedians culled from Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, and Sirius XM Radio entertain with adult-brand humor. Visitors can also sit in on presentations and Q&As with brew masters from Flying Dog and Heavy Seas, asking them about their unique brewing process or how many elves it takes to seal a beer can once it's been filled. To sustain the unlimited sampling, food and soda will be available for purchase.

Inspired by visits to museums and amusement parks with their own kids, Thrill-O-Rama's owners Buki and Bibie mustered together an array of activities that entertain youngsters without skimping on education. Each of the facility's nine play zones features its own creative pastime, such as science experiments, educational computer games, age-appropriate reading, and a video-game lounge stocked with a Wii and an Xbox 360. A semi-enclosed toy-filled play space boosts toddlers' motor skills, and a multilevel indoor playground lets older kids shed their wiggles in a bounce castle or on a 15-foot inflatable rock mountain, which formed when an air mattress was stored under tectonic plates. Staff members guide kids through exercise, cooking, and filmmaking classes and adhere to strict safety guidelines to yield a secure play setting. The on-site café fuels romps with a selection of finger foods, drinks, and desserts.

Since its first event in 2008, the Chesapeake Bay Wine Festival has steadily added to its multisensory feast of libations, food, and live sounds. Originally conceived to highlight Maryland's wines, beers, and local delicacies, the festival now brings wines from around the world to its bayside location. White tents shield tasters from rain, sunburn, and any curious fish who might try to leap into their goblets. Each year, the festival benefits an array of community- and family-focused organizations.

A phosphorescent Frankenstein stands guard over a legion of glowing ghouls that loom throughout the black-lit corridors of Monster Mini Golf's 18-hole course. Framed by neon-green rails, the course's pitch black putting surfaces give the impression that luminescent orbs are either somersaulting in far-reaching pockets of space or rolling across the darkened cellar of your boss's punishment office, a murky abyss populated only by gothic tropes and the presumably undead. A live DJ soundtracks each birdie-hunting expedition with bone-chilling beats as players read putts or meander around the flashing lights of the adjacent arcade, where guests can wager a month's rent in games such as skee ball, air hockey, and Guitar Hero.