Things to Do in Ken Caryl

With more than five years of experience splattered on its palette, South Denver Art Center continues to teach a range of artists how to tap into their creative energies and create artwork through a variety of media. Weekly classes are taught using the Monart Method—developed by art educator Mona Brookes—which uses a step-by-step technique to teach all levels of students how to create art through drawing, painting, clay work, and smashing things with a cricket bat. By employing five basic elements of shape, pupils can enjoy the process of creating without feeling lost or confused and can improve self-confidence while remaining as focused as a cat that’s ready to pounce on a laser-pointer dot.

Also at South Denver Art Center's private studio, friendly instructors lead groups during casual parties. These laid-back sessions offer an evening of fun as patrons sip on beverages and learn how to create each session’s themed art piece using paint, clay, or glass. Past events have included students swirling brush strokes into colorful peacocks, sculptors forming a chips-and-dip tray from raw clay, and artists fusing pieces of glass together to create a candleholder or larger pieces of glass. The center also offers private and kids' parties.

At Lollipop Park, kids ricocheting around the bounce house don't have to set foot on solid ground until they're good and ready. That's because the indoor amusement park doesn't impose a time limit—on rides or the length of birthday parties. Kids ages 10 and younger are free to stay on the miniature Ferris wheel for dozens of ascents or whirl around the carousel until they figure out which horse is the fastest. Of course, these are just two of the rides in the park's collection. Spinning teacups, a tiny train, and suspended swings all thrill their riders, and entry wristbands entitle everyone to unlimited go-rounds.

For more than 30 years, Lollipop Park has served as a beacon of relaxed fun, and its longstanding commitment to young smiles is evident in the thousands of grateful letters on display from children's charities that have received contributions from the park. A snack bar divvies out pizza and drinks for lunch breaks, while a lollipop stand harkens back to the golden age of carnivals.

SwimLabs Swim School’s instructors have two priorities: teaching kids and adults how to swim and helping competitive swimmers optimize their strokes. In addition to CPR and first-aid certifications backed by years of experience, the instructors are aided by swimming-pool technology. Their private and small-group lessons take place in Endless Pools with adjustable currents, each about 10’x16’ and heated to 90–92 degrees to prevent polar-bear infestations. The custom currents can give beginner students a boost or challenge advanced swimmers with more forceful resistance waves. As swimmers paddle against the current, the staff records their strokes with Dartfish video technology. They then analyze the results together, comparing the swimmer’s form to a video of proper technique.

Owner Jennifer Schroeder began crafting her own all-natural products in high school and, one career later, now heads a team of skincare mavens who give kitchen chemists the tools to create their own spa experiences. Demonstration lectures form a compact introduction to a single process and leave students with a product sample to take home and touch up aging portraits of great-great-grandparents, and workshops plunge all hands into the fundamentals of gel-based anti-aging serums, exfoliating sugar scrubs, or herbal soaps. The small-group classes focus on practicable skills and include recipes for home use, enabling perpetual plant-based pampering.

Ducking behind a rusty old car, the paintballer peers through the windshield as he preps his next move, knowing all too well that opponents lurk behind the barrels and old cars littering the rest of the 65-acre outdoor field. Meanwhile, at an indoor facility, players traverse an astroturfed airball field or weave their way around a scenario field's walk-in tanks and barricades. Elsewhere, the pro shop equips competitors with gear ranging from name-brand markers to bulletproof easels. In the coming months, American Paintball Coliseum plans on enthralling visitors anew by renovating its outdoor location into 14 different playing fields, adding a concession stand to its indoor facility, and adding a laser tag option to its fields.