Things to Do in Clarksville

With classic replica airsoft guns aimed, teams navigate a 25,000-square-foot indoor battlefield. Within the battlefield's three playing areas, gun-toters conceal themselves behind stacks of tires, stationary vehicles, and small wooden buildings. As combatants slink behind crates and boxes in the shadows, opposing players ferret them out using the light affixed to their weapons and a streaming fire of plastic BBs zipping at speeds up to 375 feet per second. Game play in the radioactive room commences under the glow of black lights that turn the graffiti-laden grounds phosphorescent and opponents' teeth bluer than their songs about battles lost. Adjacent to the battleground, airsoft enthusiasts mingle in the lounge space equipped with a retail shop, party area, and arcade for parties and group events.

Live goats scamper across a verdant vista dotted with farmhouses and open prairies at Lady-K Farm, a working dairy farm. Its owner, Karen, spends much of her days shepherding the farm's goats. She supplies bottles of their milk for local families and also uses it to create fresh-smelling bars of natural soap. In addition to wrapping bars in pristine packaging for wholesale, Karen has taught soap-making classes for 15 years to help others harness the milk's skin-softening benefits. Karen also sponsors an annual Goat Husbandry Conference to teach prospective goat owners how to care for the animals, especially when they dress in sheep’s fur in blundered searches for their own identities.

Though the staff at Honeysuckle Hill Farm cultivates livestock and crops of seasonal produce, its other chief resource is outdoor adventure. Through their seasonal tours, farm staffers teach adults and children about farm operations, the basics of agriculture, and which fabrics scarecrows find itchy. They also give visitors a chance to work their way through labyrinthine corn mazes. At birthday parties, younger visitors can pet the resident animals, pan for gemstones at an artificial stream, and race each other in pedal-powered carts. Away from the fields, Association for Challenge Course Technology–certified guides and their guests soar down a one-mile zipline course designed and built to ACCT standards. The guides lead tours through the course’s three elevated towers, three canopy-level bridges stretched across Battle Creek, and eight ziplines, which they maintain daily to chase away loitering vigilantes. Along the way, guides showcase their knowledge of the creek’s history while pointing out local flora and fauna.

Laughter fills the air as kids zip down slides and caper about a jungle of wall-to-wall inflatables and obstacle courses within Monkey Joe’s play center. Kids 12 and under romp throughout the air-conditioned playscape’s obstacles, and tykes 3 and under stretch their imaginations on the softer and smaller attractions in the toddler play area. An orchestra of electronic beeps fills the arcade, and the scents of savory pizza waft from a concessions stand. Colorful balloons and cakes pack party rooms, where birthday boys and girls unwrap presents and brand-new imaginary friends.

Safety is paramount to Monkey Joe’s. The play areas are always supervised by the trained staff, and as little ones frolic, a child security system tracks visitors through identity bracelets and video monitoring. These safety measures—combined with the use of FDA-certified cleaning solutions—put parents at ease as they relax in the adult lounge, where they can catch their favorite shows on flat-screen TVs or browse the Internet for ways to pimp their minivans.

Eponymous owner Winnie Williams uses Winnie’s Fashion Design as a stage from which she illuminates the mesmerizing world of fashion. Winnie lovingly curates a rotating selection of handmade clothing alongside a collection of exhibits, publications, and programs that educate her patrons about fashion. The shop’s staff alters clothing for clients and instructs the design curious in introductory and advanced clothing- and accessory-making classes. During classes, attendees learn basics, such as how to thread a needle, operate a sewing machine, and how to perform sutures on accident-prone dolls. They might also complete advanced projects, such as constructing a handbag from scratch. During its periodic fashion shows, Winnie’s Fashion Design shows off the modest, classy designs that characterize the company.