Things to Do in Cambridge

THEMUSEUM’s vision—“To awe, inspire and enlighten”—is evident to its visitors as soon as they traverse the adult- and child-sized doorways. Once inside, they begin their journey through the exhibition halls in front of the vibrant plants protruding from the Living Wall, whose purpose is to clean the air and cool the interior of the multilevel facility. Along with permanent exhibitions, THEMUSEUM also hosts temporary exhibits; past installations have explored the pop art innovations of Andy Warhol's Factory, the interplay between art and electronics, and the experimental brushstrokes of painter Tom Thomson. In addition, THEMUSEUM is also a destination for global travelling exhibits, having played host to travelling international blockbusters like Our Body: The Universe Within and Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition.

At Sosa Gliding Club, instructors and tow pilots don't receive paychecks; they teach others simply to share the joy of gliding. And since the club owns the Rockton Airport-which has two grass runways, a fleet of single- and two-seat gliders, and a clubhouse-they can pass on their knowledge through ground courses and in-air instruction. Through cross-country soaring classes, for instance, they teach potential pilots to soar in gliders, finding invisible rising air currents to carry them upward rather than simply gliding the aircraft to the ground. Once students achieve basic piloting prowess, club instructors can then give aerobatic instruction, showing students how to perform slow rolls, loops, and wingovers during adrenaline-pumping staring contests with eagles.

Though the winter snow has melted, inner tubes continue to zoom down the routes at Chicopee Tube Park—now cruising atop Italian mats, designed for waterless tubing. A host of other outdoor attractions complement the park’s eponymous activity. Two ziplines—an 80-metre line for first timers and a 300-metre line for veteran fliers—let passengers glide above the treetops without having to hitch a ride on a passing pterodactyl. The Eurobungy trampoline also gives guests the gift of flight, granting harness-sporting park-goers the ability to leap up to 25 feet in the air, and the spider-web climbing tower offers stationary bird’s-eye views once climbers have hoisted themselves to its pinnacle. For low-to-the-ground fun, harnessed participants at the horizontal ropes can balance six feet off the ground, getting a taste of tightrope walking without that chalky, acrophobic aftertaste.

Dickson Bowl spices up the traditional sport of bowling with five-pin lanes designed to test the accuracy and finger-counting abilities of players of all ages. During late-night and weekend cosmic-bowling sessions, an incandescent glow radiates throughout the facility, creating a surreal experience not only for bowlers, but also for visitors to the on-site arcade and diner, which crafts house-made pizzas in addition to several breakfast and lunch options. 

Outside of cosmic and open-bowling times, the alley offers league opportunities for women, children, and men of all ages and abilities. It also hosts theme nights each month, inviting guests to bowl in hockey jerseys, pajamas, or camouflage suits that hopefully go unnoticed by the pins.

The rattle of scattered bowling pins echoes throughout the 7,000-square-foot ibowl Family Fun Center, a former shoe factory that has been repurposed for bowling, miniature golf, and other games. Inspired by an around-the-world theme, the nine-hole miniature-golf course takes putters globetrotting around igloos and pint-sized models of the Taj Mahal and the Eiffel Tower populated with Lilliputian tourists complaining about jet lag. Bowling balls barrel toward sets of 5 or 10 pins at the centre's bowling lanes, which boast automatic scoring and optional bumpers. The mini-game emporium also features air hockey, foosball, and pool tables, allowing competitors to prove who has the superior hand-eye coordination without entering juggling competitions with a meat cleaver.

Since 1902, The Kitchener Lawn Bowling Club has united the thrill of competition with the leisure of a sunny backyard thanks to lawn bowling—a sport whose roots extend deep into the 12th century in cultures across the globe. Today, the club hosts social matches and lessons on its immaculate greens surrounded by shaded benches, flowerbeds, and picnic tables. Membership grants free lessons as well as access to the clubhouse stocked with trophies, photographs, and memorabilia from throughout its history. At night, floodlights illuminate the field, providing a full view of evening games and preventing confused players from trying to hit the moon with every toss.