Things to Do in Cooper City

As they continue to find their ice-footing this year, the Panthers strive to wrest control of the NHL's jungle gym by dominating visiting pucksters on their home ice. Witness the squad's skate-borne feats of athleticism as they attempt to vanquish their Eastern Conference foes the Ottawa Senators, New York Islanders, or Toronto Maple Leafs. Premium lower-bowl seating gets spectators close enough to see the intricate weaving of line formations and collect ice flecks from the players’ skates to make snow cones. Your exact stadium location will be determined upon your arrival, and groups must purchase tickets together for consecutive seats if they don't want their painted torsos' letters to accidentally spell, "Flo, rid a pant. Hers."

With only 130 seats, Mosaic Theatre can justly claim that there’s not a bad seat in the house. Designed to be a maximally flexible space, the venue changes its seating for every performance to enhance the theatergoing experience for visitors or to clear way for the mid-play goat chorus line.

The original Strikers were born in 1977, when the Miami Toros moved to Broward County. Donning their popular red-and-gold hooped uniforms, the team experienced instant success—so much so that Lockhart Stadium underwent two seating expansions to accommodate the club's rapidly growing fan base. During those years, a playoff game between the Strikers and New York Cosmos drew a crowd of 77,691, which still stands as the record for a U.S. Pro League soccer match and most people squished into a single soccer net.

Even with all their success, the Strikers relocated to Minnesota after the 1983 season. The team returned five years later, and for more than two decades, competed as part of several leagues. Finally, after a failed attempted to bring Major League Soccer to Miami, the Miami FC of the United Soccer League decided to officially adopt the Strikers moniker and move to the North American Soccer League for the 2011 season. The Strikers didn't waste any time announcing their rebirth, as they made the league's championship series that same season.

In 1989, Young At Art began as a small, 3,200-square-foot children’s museum dedicated to shaping young minds and enriching the community through the transformative power of art. Since then, the tiny workshop has grown into a 55,000-square-foot collection of activities celebrating the diverse influences of art on our lives and imaginations, garnering a rare accreditation by the American Association of Museums for its efforts. At ArtScapes—one of the four main exhibits—kids and their parents travel through The Cave, a frantic slideshow of images conveying 5,000 years of human history, step into a replica of a New York City subway car, and view examples of graffiti as a means of creative expression against the oppressive forces of aluminum spray cans.

Elsewhere, WonderScapes transports children up to 4 years old to a world inspired by the illustrations of DeLoss McGraw, whose version of Alice in Wonderland won the Society of Illustrators Book of the Year award in 2002, and GreenScapes demonstrates the immutable intersection of art and the environment as visitors build sculptures from natural materials. Never ones to ignore their creativity, teenagers can find refuge in the Teen Center, where a graphic design lab with Mac computers and a recording studio let them convert their pre-calc homework into digital form before it’s too late.

At two locally owned locations, The Electric Bicycle Store team tends to a herd of battery-powered steeds that carry riders along the smooth pathways of South Florida. The shop stocks bikes by Pedego, Sanyo, Schwinn, Stromer, Trek, and others, and the staff helps outfit riders with accessories such as helmets and solar chargers. With rental packages, riders take to bike paths with helmets, lights, locks, chargers, and baskets that can fit a few pounds of spaghetti for midride snacks.

Tennis combines pinpoint precision with pivoting agility to provide a full-body workout and a fun arena for one-on-one combat with friends and ball-launching robots. At Hagen Park Tennis Center, players will benefit from USPTA Tennis Professional instruction while utilizing six lighted tennis courts, improving their forehand, backhand, and slight-of-hand strokes. Sixty-minute Fit-Tennis Boot Camp sessions focus on physical training that hones tennis skills through drills and circuit training. Players will lose weight and strengthen muscles while reducing the risk of injury, identifying areas of strength and weakness, and developing multifaceted skills. Boot Camp activities employ plyometrics, calisthenics, circuit training, agility exercises, and a variety of other methods to increase power, create shot stability, develop quickness, and avoid John MacEnroe-type eruptions. Classes, offered Tuesdays at 7 p.m. and Fridays at 9 a.m., are attended by a minimum of six players, ensuring a fun and instructive group environment.