Things to Do in Batavia

At Raging Waves, certified lifeguards keep a vigilant watch over visitors as they traverse a park filled with 17 water slides and other aquatic attractions, but surveillance isn’t their only job. They secure up to four passengers in tubes before they zoom down a giant family slide and instruct riders on how to position their arms and wink Morse-code messages to eagles during their plunge down a winding speed slide with a near-vertical drop. Though adrenaline is the Raging Waves' main focus, it also houses slower-paced attractions such as a regular swimming pool, a quarter-mile lazy river, and separate children's play area.

Score 18 Indoor Golf is host to a fleet of six ProTee golf simulators, which faithfully recreate the views and physics of the sport in a comfortable indoor environment. The simulators transport players to their choice of more than 94 global courses, each rendered with high-quality graphics and realistic playing elements. A camera system and putting sensor accurately track the trajectory and speed of each shot, recreating skillful approaches and over-the-knee club bending rituals. The simulators also provide useful data after each shot, providing particulars such as launch speed and club-head impact position as instant feedback for fine-tuning swings. Between shots, players can lounge in comfortable leather chairs and compare scores on complimentary printouts.

Youngsters clamor over air-filled merry-go-rounds, obstacle courses, and slides inside FunFlatables' indoor play arenas. Dyer's 12,00-square-foot facility houses giant aquariums, pirate ships, and 19-foot slides, while Merrillville's 9,000-square-foot playground sends kiddies whirling around on a bouncy carousel like the first cowboys before the discovery of real horses. Each bounce facility keeps toddlers from getting underfoot in dedicated Totland play spaces, complete with musical toys, miniature slides, and foam-covered floors. Outdoor-inflatable rentals bring the jump sessions to birthdays, block parties, fairs, and parole hearings.

On tours from Haunted Hometowns, each traveler clutches an EMF meter, nervously waiting for a flash that detects electromagnetic fields, thus signaling the presence of paranormal activity. Meanwhile, a seasoned storyteller imparts gripping tales of murder, local legends, and ghostly encounters. Based on the books of ghost historian and storyteller Diane Ladley, Haunted Hometowns tours build on her four decades of research, as well as her intimate knowledge of the area and its rumored spectral inhabitants. Guides encourage participants to tote along their cameras so that they’re prepared to preserve the spooky sights along the way and catch photo-bombing ghosts in the act.

The Illinois Horseperson of the Year in 2004, Janet Sassmannshausen acts as Kinvarra Farm's lead instructor, controlling the reins of a United States Hunter Jumper Association–certified training staff. Since 1984, everyone from first-time riders to voracious competitors has visited Kinvarra Farm seeking to refine his or her skills during equitation programs, which have produced many year-end state titles as well as mentions in riders' families’ holiday newsletters. The farm's show team consistently finishes in the ribbons for Zone 5, and individual students pay homage to their lead instructor by winning Horseperson of the Year titles in their own divisions.

Paranormal investigator Kevin Frantz, author of Naperville, Chicago's Haunted Neighbor, has led visitors through spooky Naperville settings while dispensing historically accurate yarns for six years. As they make their way through these eerie locales, Kevin invites guests to snap their own photographs in the pursuit of a keepsake paranormal portrait.