Things to Do in Columbus

Spotlight Theatres Eisenhower 6 screens enrapture audiences with first-run movies. In each movie house, digital sounds and visual projections of fresh Hollywood films alight inner emotions of audiences resting in plush, high-backed stadium seats—each outfitted with a coin-operated mustache comb—or thrown directly into the action through 3-D technology. As eyes and ears relish motion-picture pursuits, soda, candy, and bounties of salty, crunchy popcorn emerge from the concession stand to occupy chatty mouths or catapult towards the screen to feed the hungry actors.

For more than two decades, Olympia Family Fun Center has helped guests young and old get their groove on with a wooden roller-skating rink, snack bar, and O-zone—an on-site dance club for teenagers. The rink's fluorescent lights and energetic, upbeat tunes keep skaters in motion as they loop around the rink, passing slower skaters and high-fiving onlookers who have really great hair.

In the year 2000, after hundreds of hours of yoga practice, workshops, and conferences, Tanya Edwards's hard work culminated in the opening of her very own studio, Art of Yoga. And today, alongside her team of certified yoga teachers, Tanya helps practitioners of all experience levels build strong bodies and sound minds with an eclectic teaching style grounded in the Hatha yoga tradition. The serene, sage-colored studio heats up to a balmy 95 degrees during hot yoga, a 90-minute routine of stretching and sweating that encourages the body to expel harmful toxins, such as liquefied body parts of T-1000. Other class styles include a gentler restorative class, an intense core-centric yoga class, and a Bollywood fusion class that infuses low-impact Eastern dances with Western fitness techniques.

More than 50 species of butterflies flit between the petals of an ever-changing array of exotic plants inside the greenhouse as sunlight streams in through the glass ceilings. Outside, experts launch owls, falcons, and eagles into the air to fly—and many come back down to land on the arms of the audience. Since 1952, the staffers of Callaway Gardens’ educational nature preserve have immersed visitors in their passion for wildlife management and conservation across more than 4,600 acres of demonstration gardens, arboretums, and outdoor sports attractions.

At the 5-acre Horticultural Center, visitors wander through three conservatories, a grotto, and an outdoor garden and stand at the base of a 22-foot indoor waterfall. They can also soar up to 30 feet above the forest floor on a five-zipline treetop course replete with ladders, logs, and netting or practice their lumberjack calls on a 10-mile discovery trail through the trees. Staffers regularly lead guided hikes through the woods, hold a range of butterfly shows and cultural workshops, and help facilitate seasonal events—including circus, music, and theater performances and a holiday light show. On overnight stays, they welcome guests into lodgings such as a rustic inn, 155 secluded pine cottages, and 57 stone and wood villas with balconies.

An inflated pirate stands atop a castle, challenging intruders to enter his bouncy domain and scale to the top of its slide. This is just one of the air-filled attractions that delights Jumpin' Joeys' pint-size visitors. Within the indoor playland, kids can weave around inflated obstacles, crawl through tunnels, and bounce like an astronaut on the moon's rubber surface. And when they're not pretending to be kangaroos, kids (and adults) can meander over to the refreshment area for drinks, chips, and candy. They can choose to partake in open-play, parties, or special themed attractions, such as zombie zones during Halloween.

Whether wearing a horned Viking helmet—cheekily dubbed the official Wine-Making Hat—or working bareheaded, the team at Warm Springs Winery crafts an array of muscadine wines. The sweet red and off-dry varieties of muscadine are produced from grapes grown in Georgia. As guests sample wines from souvenir glasses, they can gaze into Warm Springs’ pond, where lotus flowers float above a family of colorful koi.