Things to Do in Dover

Inside Pump It Up's 12,000-square-foot facility, sock-clad feet scamper across custom-designed inflatable play structures, slides, and obstacle courses while an attentive staff supervises. On Jump-N-Art days, kids can follow open-bouncing sessions with arts-and-crafts projects, and vibrant neon lights illuminate the dimmed facility during Glow Parties. An onsite party room hosts bouncers and their parents, who refuel with pizza, soda, and juice. The center also supplies up to 25 children or 250 life-size Hannah Montana cutouts with private party packages, which grant guests exclusive access to the facility along with catering, cake, and goody bags.

When Francesca Piotrowsky and Amy Sahagian, each mother to a trio of little ones, met at a stay-at-home mom’s group, they discovered a shared vision for an interactive place where their kids could frolic and socialize in a structured environment. The enterprising duo brought their dream to life with Monkeydoodles Playroom, a spacious facility stocked with toys, cushioned geometric shapes, and climbable structures. The playroom hosts 45-minute classes that help youngsters develop age-appropriate skills, such as balance and coordination, taking turns, or the ability to use trigonometry to pin the tail on the donkey. Open playtime sessions summon tykes aged 6 months to 5 years for independent escapades in the ball pit or astride a rocking horse.

Progenitors can prepare snacks in the playroom’s kitchen as their offspring mimic their actions in a pretend kitchen. The life-size kitchen lets parents tuck away a birthday cake during parties, for which Monkeydoodles Playroom can provide pizza and balloons for guests to gather into bunches and ride home on the breeze.

At Randolph Climbing Center, multistoried rock walls challenge guests to conquer gravity and strengthen their bodies one vertical step at a time. Those new to the sport can take classes that the cover fundamentals every climber should know, including how to use their rope to slow descents, provide leverage, and lasso dangling action heroes to safety.