Things to Do in Broomfield

Inspired by the idea that creativity should be not only about expression but also about having fun in the process, the staff at Whimsy Paint and Sip Art Studio shows groups how to make colorful works of art with easy-to-follow steps. Layering colorful paints on canvases provided by the studio, students build compositions ranging from re-creations of modern masterpieces to landscapes and still lifes. During painting events, guests can sip on signature martinis mixed behind the 40-foot stainless-steel bar or a variety of Colorado wines available by the glass or bottle. Beyond the weekly events, the staff maintains a selection of canvases and frames in their boutique and also hosts birthday parties where children have fun playing with paint and parents can figure out if the tuition to that preschool of the arts is paying off.

Children and teens engage their imaginations during dynamic adventures set in a fantastical time filled with dashing knights questing in the name of good. Groups of four to seven young heroes must overcome challenging puzzles and duel with foam swords as they work together to complete tasks such as saving their village, solving a mystery, or developing the technique of crop rotation. While swinging a Swasher sword, children learn how to compete and act fairly according to the rules of swordplay. The interactive play teaches kids creative problem solving and conflict-resolution skills that incorporate negotiation and compromises to solve complex disputes.

Suspended within a glass and steel bubble, passengers soar over red-rock foothills and misty mountaintops. In the distance, they can glimpse the towering steel buildings of the Mile High City. The sun glints from a golden dome, and abstract façades of modern architecture reach toward clear, blue skies dotted with clouds. Though their ears are shielded by headsets, the passengers can hear the hum of the helicopter’s blades as they slice through the air. Customers also get a chance to try their hand at piloting a helicopter on one of the simulators.

Colorado Heli-Ops's team of extensively trained pilots ferries passengers on aerial tours such as these that fly over some of their state’s most historic sites and breathtaking scenery. The sleek metal hulls of Robinson R44 helicopters provide limousine-like luxury with plush leather seats, Bose headsets, and iPod docks that invite guests to enhance flights with a personal soundtrack of emotional rock ballads. On-staff photographers can professionally capture tour memories with high-powered lenses affixed to 15MP Canon cameras and develop all images in house after the flight.

Pilots also use their mechanical birds to train clients for private and commercial pilot’s licenses or help them brush up on more specialized skills through programs in high-altitude and mountain flight. To enable preflight preparation and let students observe the flight patterns of digital geese, staffers operate two FAA-certified Frasca Truflight H simulators and one Merlin Turbine simulator.

Flesh-eating zombies, cannibalistic clowns, nightmarish ghouls, and haunting ghosts prowl The Frightmare Compound, ready to snatch those foolish enough to venture through its fear-infested grounds. Known as one of Colorado's oldest and largest haunted attractions, the compound houses two terrifying attractions on more than 100,000 square feet of swampland. Horrors unseen wait for new victims inside the first compound, where a haunted barn filled with terrors is the least of visitors' worries. The second attraction, the House of Darkness, was the site of a terrible massacre and lay abandoned for some time until the Frightmare staff brought it to their site. Soon after, the ghosts of those slain began roaming its halls, and clowns with a taste for human flesh found their way inside its corridors.

Teammates skirt the abandoned RV, dart through the open door of a downed helicopter, and duck for cover behind a concrete bunker. After a pause, a player stands to check for enemies on the landscape of dusty huts and fences—only to have paint splatter across his chest. On Blitz Paintball's five recreational paintball fields, players immerse themselves in the thrill of paint-based combat through a range of scenarios. The staff designs regularly changing games for each field, including the traditional Capture the Flag or UN treaty signing, and also allows players to create their own styles of play.

Players rent standard semi-automatic, Tippmann A5, or high-end markers, pressurized tanks, and masks, and they prep for combat in a 5,000-square-foot shaded staging area. They're then turned loose to compete on the football-field-size Hyperball field, the Spool field, or themed Urban Combat, Fort, and Black Hawk Down fields, upon which elevated fortresses allow players to duck for cover from the aggressive native pigeon population. Projectiles whisper through the air in a two-story, 7,000-square-foot castle, where warriors work their way into an interior courtyard and massive throne room. Two regulation PSP tournament fields host more competitive play with astroturf and padded barriers.

While bullets streak down the lanes at most shooting ranges, the more than 40 avenues of fire found on Monaco Street host a different projectile: arrows. No Limits Archery features 31 20-yard lanes with paper targets—ideal training grounds for beginners hunting the broad sides of barns. Deep-woods verisimilitude increases across a dozen 40-yard ranges, where arrows glance off the oblique flanks of 3-D faux animals.

The facility rents out compound bows to beginners who don't yet possess their own equipment, and an onsite pro shop provides extra ammo and mid- to high-end compound weapons to more serious practitioners. Each Friday, instructors oust adults from the range to provide targeted instruction to youngsters, and they host tournaments and leagues for pros on weekends.