Franklin Lakes, NJ Indoor Activities

Although it sounds like an equation dreamed up by a sedentary scientist, IM=X stands for something that’s anything but sedentary: Integrated Movement eXercise. In its 16 years of existence, this fitness method has drawn the attention of media outlets such as Shape, Self, and the New York Times. The program’s concept stemmed from founder Elyse McNergney’s Pilates certifications, MA in movement science, and EdM in exercise physiology from Columbia University.

Elyse devised a method for teaching students how to stabilize their core-muscle groups while keeping the spine elongated and safe during the workout. The outcome she helps clients achieve is a decompressed spine, better posture, and the ability to provide piggyback rides for 12 toddlers at a time. Her program has also been used to rehabilitate professional athletes, dancers, and patients suffering from chronic pain.

Operating from within the Chiropractic Wellness Center of Clifton, the intimate workout space is filled with IM=X reformer machines. A mural of Lake Louise in Alberta, Canada, gazes on serenely as students perform workouts inspired by not only Pilates but yoga, cycling, cardio, and ballet barre.

Danbury Ice Arena's professional skating instructors introduce students to the fine art of figure-eighting with weekly classes based on the curriculum of the Ice Skating Institute. Children as young as three years old can begin instruction in the Tot 1 course, which is designed to instill a sense of comfort and confidence on the ice through techniques such as marching in place, falling properly, and getting up. As skaters expand their abilities, they may continue with progressive course levels that build upon each other. Both adult and child introductory courses focus on beginning techniques such as marching and stopping, which provide a foundation for techniques learned in advanced levels such as performing one-foot glides, making snowplow stops, and evading goalies who have grown tired of being senselessly bombarded with pucks.

The New Jersey Children's Museum immerses its visitors in more than 30 interactive exhibits that encourage hands-on exploration and learning, a philosophy that helped the facility secure a place within (201) Magazine's Best of Bergen 2011 series. Adventure intertwines with education within the dinosaur cave, where kids can make cave drawings or dig up fossils of prehistoric sports mascots. Heads turn as flashing lights and the warning cries of an approaching locomotive fill the air at the giant train set, and news stories break at the television studio. In addition to its many curiosity-inducing zones, the award-winning facility also hosts birthday parties with themes such as fire trucks, princesses, and dinosaurs.

Nationwide Bowling Centers orchestrates a cacophonous symphony of clanking pins and cheering bowlers at 11 modern bowling centers located throughout New Jersey. Center size varies from the Hudson-Bayonne location where 60 lanes with automatic scoring, a grill, sports bar, and arcade games accommodate armadas of bowlers to Garden Palace, which houses 16 lanes, a bar, and a snack shop. At all locations, staffers host birthday parties and corporate events and organize leagues for competitive bowlers or people who just like to chuck heavy objects as hard as they can.

It takes copious amounts of energy to transform a child's body into an adult's, so it’s no wonder that such energy sometimes overflows. At Planet Kidz, a fleet of chipper teachers helps kids find constructive outlets for that energy, keeping bodies healthy and minds creatively engaged. The center’s dance and yoga programs tailor training toward developing bodies and students who love to learn in a non-competitive environment. During gymnastics classes, instructors challenge tykes to improve their coordination and flexibility, which help lay the fundamental physical foundation for other popular sports such as soccer or juggling Mom's vases. Self-discipline and self-defense share the spotlight during karate classes, and kids develop social niceties and fine motor skills at arts and crafts sessions.

While kids play and learn, parents can recline on couches, observe classes through a one-way mirror, or down beverages from a complimentary coffee and water bar. Cable TV ensures that adults stay on top of incoming broadcasts, and free WiFi keeps robot nannies from suddenly shutting down.

The Garden State Rollergirls, New Jersey's premiere all-female roller derby league, boasts a roster of over 40 skaters during their seventh season. Equipped with four-wheeled skates, the athletes crush competition during bouts of two 30-minute halves. While designated jammers—typically the fastest skaters—attempt to lap opposing rollers, blockers use a lethal combination of shoulder and hip checks.