Things to Do in Kent

For decades, the city of Tacoma was the minor league home of MLB teams from across the country. It hosted affiliates of the San Francisco Giants, the Chicago Cubs, and even the New York Yankees for one season. In 1995, the Seattle Mariners took over Tacoma's team and instantly inherited the long-time organizational name, the Rainiers. The alliance has seen much success over the years, including a Pacific Coast League championship in 2010, a title the club had to win on the road while Cheney Stadium was groggy from anesthesia as it endured drastic renovations.

Those renovations earned the facility a "2011 Renovation of the Year" award from Ballpark Digest. Once dubbed the "100-Day Wonder" thanks to its hasty construction before the 1960 season, Cheney Stadium features an iconic 75-foot wooden exterior façade. Inside, the stadium now boasts such modern amenities as luxury suites, a restaurant, and a grass berm along right field. Despite all the updates, though, the stadium has preserved its epic 29-foot tall batter's eye in centerfield, which sits a distant 425 feet—or, the equivalent of 5,437 sunflower seeds—from home plate.

Rainbow Play Systems’s expansive showrooms introduce kids aged 2 to 10 to a wonderland of gym equipment, all of which is available for purchase. A multitude of swing sets with spiral slides, trapeze rings, and tire swings exercise tykes while preparing them for the physics portion of the SAT.

Within the century-old confines of Uptown Glassworks' warehouse, furnaces melt handfuls of kaleidoscopic frit into malleable shapes manipulated by a team of professional glass blowers. But these tradesmen don't just create works for the gallery; they also share their secrets with students in a variety of activities, from introductory courses on making beads and paperweights to advanced instruction that can be applied toward college credit or used to fix the pockmarked walls of glass houses.

During the shop's Blow-Your-Own sessions, participants apply color to clear, molten glass that has recently emerged from a 2,000-degree furnace, then blow their mixture into 1 of 20 different shapes. The next day, patrons can pick up their cooled and packaged creations, comparing their handiwork to the gallery's collection of products, which are made by more than 90 local and regional glass artists.

One would expect Paul Morrison to be a little winded by now, if not too weary to consume his favorite, energizing treat from Starbucks. This is because the spry co-owner of the Tacoma City Marathon has been running for the past 31 years and cheering on peers through his company's eight endurance events since 2007. His affinity for the sport was fully developed by age 12, when he had a bout of early onset entrepreneurship that caused a fever dream of owning a running store. The dream came to fruition when he opened Fleet Feet Sports in Bonney Lake, but his appetite for adrenaline and sweat-bonded companionship remained, unsatisfied by regular sprints through the woods with fellow ultramarathoners and chats with customers about their pronation.

The missing piece was Tony Phillipi, the founder of the world's largest running club, Marathon Maniacs. The company's name accurately reflects Phillipi's zeal for running, which was ignited on a high-school track when the burning rubber footing accidentally set his soul on fire. When the two sportsmen crossed paths, they immediately commiserated over the lack of distance races in Tacoma and set out to fill the void with the sound of steady, strong footfalls.

An osprey hovers 30 feet in the air over Lake Washington, virtually silent until it spots something beneath the water's surface. Quickly, it folds its wings and plunges into the water, emerging seconds later with a fish ripped firmly between its talons. Nearby, Cascade Canoe & Kayak Centers' founder, Dan Henderson, floats by silently. This slice of the pristine outdoors happens to be his workplace, but none of it would have happened if his mother hadn't forced him to take a canoeing lesson in 1972. Despite his initial reluctance, Mr. Henderson took to the water like a robot to a magnet store. He went on to race whitewater canoes and flat-water Olympic-style canoes, eventually earning four medals as a member of the U.S. national team. Later, Mr. Henderson became a coach and set out to train a new crop of water athletes. To this end, Cascade Canoe & Kayak Centers serves as the natural continuation of Mr. Henderson's journey: a place to, in his words, "share paddling with the community in a manner that is fun and safe."

Under the leadership of expert guides—many of whom learned their trade directly under Dan Henderson's wing—visitors embark on day trips into inlets and bays, paddling in the shadow of the Olympic Mountains or tailgating orca whales. The staff also leads canoe and kayak classes that aim to take novices from beginner to expert. Their efforts have proved fruitful, as three of Cascade Canoe & Kayak Centers' students have made it to international-level competitions.

Maxrider's “4D” theater safely jets participants off into fantastical, three-dimensional worlds bursting with stunning imagery and educational discoveries. During each three- to five-minute adventure, a 12.5-foot screen projects jaw-dropping locales into the eyes of up to six riders, who bounce, rattle, and shake up cartons of orange juice from within the simulator's oscillating cart. Patrons will have the opportunity to choose from up to 23 different experiences, which may include a roaring spin around a rocky canyon, an information-packed journey through the human body, or an adrenaline-pumping plunge into a mother-in-law's infamous meatloaf. To further forge an authentic experience and re-create reality, rides also spritz explorers with water and blow wind on them depending on the chosen enterprise.