Things to Do in Eden

Admission is always free to the Weatherspoon Art Museum's collection of nearly 6,000 works from primarily post-WWII American artists. With today's deal, both the individual and dual/family memberships entitle you to reciprocal admission to partnering museums, 10% off most gift-shop merchandise, free or discounted admission to special events, and more. Click here to see a complete list of membership benefits.

• For $4, you get one ticket to any regular-season home game on Sunday–Thursday (an $8 value before fees, or up to a $9.50 value online, including all ticketing fees). • For $16, you get four tickets to any regular-season home game on Sunday–Thursday (a $32 value before fees, or up to a $38 value online, including all ticketing fees).

Every year, Green Hill Center's 7,000-square-foot main gallery displays five exhibitions of contemporary work, usually by artists who live and work in North Carolina. A single membership entitles the Groupon-holder to discounts on programs in the main gallery space, discounted tickets to the Collector's Choice holiday gala, invitations to opening receptions, and more. With the household membership, families get all the benefits of a single membership plus free admission to ArtQuest, Green Hill Center's hands-on art studio for kids and families. Check "Become a Member" information under the "Get Involved" section of Green Hill Center's website for a full listing of membership benefits.

The alligator's enormous jaws remain gaping, large white fangs ready to chomp as child after child voluntarily scampers down its gullet. It's not feeding day at the zoo—it’s a day of bouncing and exercise at Bumper Jumpers’ 14,000-square-foot indoor playground packed with mammoth inflatables and games. Loping across the padded, multicolored floor, kids bound in a giant purple inflatable to play basketball or punt footballs through air-filled field-goal poles. Big yellow slides beckon tots before they frolic through inflated landscapes of orange dinosaurs, oversize mushrooms, and jump-roping imaginary friends.

After working up an appetite, kids can gnaw on healthy treats at the refreshments area before slipping into inflatable sumo suits or tossing balls at the mini bowling game. Bumpers Jumpers offers weekly programs so parents can drop kids off for three hours of play while they go about their day, and party packages help parents to organize memorable birthdays.

Bumper Jumpers keeps kids safe by closely monitoring them with both an attentive staff and an electronic surveillance system. Additionally, regular cleaning of purple sea serpents and twisty obstacle courses with Purell sanitizer keeps the venue free of 99% of germs.

There are numerous times in life when it’s not appropriate to storm off to the mountains for adventure and stress relief. Work, family, and co-dependent penguins often keep us committed to life in one place. The climbing center at Vertical Edge provides all the challenge and fun of actual mountain climbing without the distance and dangers of a real rockface. Under the skilled tutelage of trained instructors, you'll get a lesson on basic climbing techniques, including the fine art of belaying another climber (to avoid such accidents as witnessed on playgrounds when itinerant sumo wrestlers attempt to see-saw with toddlers). After your lesson, you can stick around the massive facility and belay or climb for as long as your want, then return for any full additional day with equipment and admission included. With over 8,500 square feet of climbable surfaces to choose from, including a bouldering cave and 20 leadable routes, there’s no shortage of learning opportunities available.

Voted a favorite place for party services by Carolina Parent readers, Bounce U welcomes kids to descend upon an inflatable, climate-controlled playground where they can bounce and ricochet in safety. Along with birthday parties and group outings, Bounce U hosts open-bounce sessions that let sock wearers of all ages imagine they're synchronized leapers in a futuristic moon performance as they carom around the inflatable stadium, expending energy with every leap. Adults are welcome to act like 8-year-olds and join the vivacious youngsters in the playground.

The inflatable arena also opens its buoyant doors to technology-themed bounce camps and programs, where boys and girls spend half their time with brain-bolstering projects such as creating their own stop-motion animation movies or reprogramming the remote to skip all news channels. After stretching the limits of their imaginations, kids then spend the other half of the day stretching the limits of their limbs on the inflatable playground.