Things to Do in Hoffman Estates

Wines for Humanity's professional wine advisers lead in-home tastings that teach guests the finer points of a five-point wine-tasting technique, all while raising funds for local charities. As students sip several exclusive vintages, they learn to judge wines' colors, aromas, and voting records, as well as pick out suitable food pairings. Wine Advisors will arrive half an hour before the tasting begins bringing the tasting glasses and wine. Hosts are encouraged to prepare suggested cheese pairings and crackers to complement the wines. Wines that are selected for tasting run at an average of $20 per bottle. A portion of every bottle selected for your own enjoyment generates a donation for UMOM New Day Centers, a charity that supports the prevention of homelessness for families with children in Maricopa County.

Golfer’s Paradise’s friendly golfing confines foster year-round golfing within the indoor hitting stalls of their AboutGolf simulators. Using real clubs, players pulverize orbs into an immense screen that utilizes 3-D graphics to vividly emulate the immaculate greenery, calculated topography, and yellow-brick cart paths of some of the world’s most famous courses. Golfers can trace powerful drives into the windswept, simulated stratosphere of St. Andrews Old Course or evade the treacherous water hazards at Michigan’s Robert Trent Jones–designed course, The Heather. Along with technology that ensures each shot travels in a realistic manner, the simulators boast advanced swing-tracking sensors that collect data and even offer advice to correct unsound swings.

A staff of PGA-certified instructors oversees Golfer's Paradise's two executive-style lounges, offering expert advice to help transform swing imbalances into trustworthy motions. Pupils benefit from the instructors' hard-won wisdom combined with the computer-generated feedback of the simulators, which reveals detailed results of the position of one's clubface at impact and the effects of sweaty-palm syndrome.

Following the aroma of freshly popped corn through Sundae’s Too Ice Cream Shop, guests find themselves standing in front of Bensenville Theatre’s two intimately sized, 130-person theaters. The twin screens flicker to life two to three times daily, showing a selection of recent Hollywood blockbusters during weekday matinees or nightly showings. A concession stand helps supply guests with popcorn for staving off hunger or stuffing shirts in an effort to emulate the muscular physique of Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Having honed his aviation skills in helicopter cockpits for 45+ years, the head pilot at Midwestern Helicopter leads a team of FAA–certified pilots in performing helicopter tours, charters, and pilot instruction. They steer a fleet of three Robinson R-44s and two R-22s over cityscapes and country vistas with photographers, pollinators, surveyors, or sightseers onboard, continuing a crash- and speeding-ticket-free record begun with the company's inception four years ago. The flight team acquaints new flyers with immediate actual flight experience during introductory flights and helps students to achieve private, commercial, and flight-instructor certification during FAA courses. As authorized merchants of Robinson aircraft, they can also hawk helicopters or perform maintenance on various models inside heated hangars without having to first notify the aircraft's next of kin.

Despite a close encounter with a hammerhead shark, Learn Scuba Chicago's Captain Bob just keeps on scuba diving. The aquatic expert got an up-close peep of shark teeth on his very first Caribbean dive, yet has scarcely taken his flippers off since. Captain Bob leads diving courses, which range from thrilling dips for beginners to rescue-diver certifications. Students plunge into indoor pools at Water's Edge Aquatic Center in Bensenville, the UIC campus, and Northeastern Illinois University campus, with open water dives held at Kankakee's Haigh Quarry. Depending on the course, Learn Scuba Chicago lends or sells student equipment such as masks, fins, snorkels, and gills.

TourBound Golf Academy fosters score-shaving improvement for golfers of all abilities with the latest PGA Tour simulators and professional instructors. The immense screens of simulators line the walls, vividly bringing to life the verdant landscapes of 50 of the world's most famous courses. To allow for realistic play, the highly detailed simulator experience takes into account factors such as wind currents, ball spin, and excessively sweaty palms to inform the outcome of each swing. Offering a more hands-on kind of swing sprucing, the academy offers sessions with the TourBound robot, which can correct common swing imbalances, such as having too steep a backswing or failing to transfer body weight through the swing. The long arms of the robot physically guide hands through the proper motions, giving players a feel for the proper technique while making sarcastic remarks about human mortality.

For those looking for less structured practice, the academy also offers hitting bays that foster rote swing mechanics. Between time spent peering into the murky depths of their golf swing, guests can relax amid plush leather seats and spacious locker room.