Things to Do in Buffalo

SCREENS Restaurant & Sports Lounge captivates casual moviegoers and cinephiles alike with its array of daily scheduled films and private group screenings in three high-definition theaters. In addition to a variety of cult and foreign flicks, towering high-definition screens broadcast the latest NFL Sunday Ticket games, X-Box and Playstation 3 tournaments, and national flossing championships to viewers nestled in comfy lounge chairs. Servers bustle from room to room, placing the menu's selection of gourmet pizzas, pasta dinners, and burgers on tables flanked by portraits of iconic Hollywood stars.

A vintage photo of Mallwitz’s Island Lanes, presumably from the 1980s, shows a much different alley than the one that stands today. Its patrons are dressed and coiffed for the times, bright yellows and reds flash across the walls, and strikes and spares are scrawled by hand. A modern-day snapshot illustrates the transformation that has occurred since the center's 1980 opening: 24 lanes feature computerized scoring systems and freshly oiled surfaces that glisten in the muted glow of black lights like a newborn’s head after his first waxing. Other contemporary touches include a full bar, complete with a food menu headlined by popular wings.

Arthur Murray has been a leading name in franchise dance since 1912, when the entrepreneur began selling mail-order dance lessons. Expanding his reach, he enlisted teachers to spread his signature dance lessons on first-class steamships and skyrocketed to fame in the '30s after introducing the public to such dances as the Lambeth Walk and The Big Apple. By the 1950s, Arthur and his wife, Kathryn, were hosting their own highly popular TV show on ABC, The Arthur Murray Dance Party, which ran for 12 years. Today, Arthur Murray's team prepares students for rug cutting at special events and weekend nightclub jaunts. Clients who arrive to lessons partnerless will be paired up with other classmates as the instructors assess their current skill level and make recommendations on the most appropriate program. Throughout lessons, instructors teach the foundations of two to four dances from a long list of styles that range from Latin to country-western, helping students to learn basic step patterns, timing, and the ability to lead or follow.

Bing Crosby. The Marx Brothers. Frank Sinatra. These are only a few of the luminaries who have trod the boards at Shea's Performing Arts Center over its nearly 90-year history. Shea’s originally opened as a movie house in 1926, shortly before the advent of talkies. Partnering with Tiffany Studios to create an extravagantly lush interior, Chicago architects C.W. and George L. Rapp modeled the opulent venue after a European opera house and created a Neo-Spanish Baroque masterpiece in the process. Tours of the venue provide an up-close view of its grandeur and many electrical outlets, and they benefit the center’s ongoing restoration initiatives. Shea’s Performing Arts Center also houses the Western New York Entertainment Hall of Fame, whose inductees include stars such as Lucille Ball, Buffalo Bob, and Christine Baranski.

A Golden Griffin emblem presides over Canisius College Athletics’ 17 sports teams, which traverse grass, water, and hard court in search of victory. As part of the NCAA Division I’s Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), Canisius’s athletes face off against other East Coast schools including Marist College, Niagara University, and Loyola University Maryland. From the stands, a sea of blue and gold cheers on the men’s basketball, hockey, and lacrosse teams, the women’s soccer, softball, and volleyball teams, and the adjunct professors’ annual soapbox derby.

Since 1861, the Buffalo Society of Natural Science has culled more than 700,000 specimens and artifacts from around the world. These treasures now reside in the Buffalo Museum of Science, allowing visitors to explore anthropology, paleontology, and zoology, with a special emphasis on the Buffalo Niagara region.

Special exhibits encourage guests to learn about the world around them through hands-on education. This fall, The Science of Sports teaches a number of athletic secrets, from throwing the perfect Hail Mary pass to creating hockey ice that fosters the fastest skating. Opened in March 2012, the Explore YOU health science studio allows visitors to learn about their bodies while studying recent medical technologies that help keep the human race healthy. The earth systems studio Our Marvelous Earth opens in October to explore geological phenomena, extreme weather, and alternative forms of energy with its interactive exhibits and displays. Elsewhere, mummies share their stories of living in Khent-min through the collected artifacts and forensic evidence on display in Whem Ankh: The Cycle of Life in Ancient Egypt. During the next four years, the museum will continue to add new exhibits and improve others with new, interactive technologies.