Things to Do in La Vista

When the Joslyn Art Museum opened in 1931, more than 25,000 people lined up to see the exhibits. It had taken three years of construction and $3 million to create the splendid art-deco building, which was inlaid with more than 38 types of marble imported from around the world. The force behind this enormous effort was philanthropist Sarah Joslyn, who had the building built in honor of her late husband. But instead of standing front and center, Sarah quietly mixed in with the crowd. "I am just one of the public," she said to people who recognized her.

Sarah truly viewed the museum as a gift to the people of Omaha. And for more than 75 years, they've cared for it like one. With the 58,000-square-foot addition addition of the Walter & Suzanne Scott Pavilion, a sculpture garden, and other enhancements, the museum has grown with time. Visitors today find more than 11,000 works of art inside, with collections and exhibitions that include pieces of ancient Greek pottery, Renaissance and Baroque paintings by Titian and El Greco, and Impressionist works by Camille Pissarro, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Claude Monet.

After admiring the peasant portraiture of 19th-century French realist Jules Breton, guests can cartwheel over to a collection of 18th- and 19th-century American artwork, which includes portraits by James Peale and landscape images by Thomas Cole. Pieces from the 20th century from artists such as Grant Wood transition visitors into viewings of more contemporary works or attempts to find a 3-D Magic Eye picture in Jackson Pollock's Galaxy.

The 18 wide fairways at Papio Greens Golf Center stretch toward smooth, par 3 greens designed to be manageable and challenging for both beginner and advanced players. Groundskeepers and staff have styled the complex as a place where families can take to the links together. Young golfers can be found preparing for their upcoming junior-league tournaments on the facility's water driving range, and adult players await their tee time by rehearsing bunker chips on the nearby practice green. Certified teaching pro Mike DeBoer teaches onsite clinics and private lessons that help beginners sharpen their swings and cut down on balls lost to the water hazards and intergalactic wormhole framing the course. Night or day, players can practice their putting beneath the lights that illuminate 36 holes of miniature golf.

Instructors at Omaha Ballroom lead drop-in group dance and fitness courses inside a studio with arched ceilings and a capacity of 100 people. Students partnered with spouses or doppelgangers glide through the steps of the waltz, fox trot, and tango during ballroom classes, or shake and strut to upbeat Latin tempos in salsa classes. Line-dancing and country-two-step classes equip individuals with the tools to impress at the next corporate hoedown, and swing lessons have dancers jitterbugging in either the East or West Coast style. Students can sidestep choreography to strengthen cores during mat Pilates, participate in Zumba’s gut-busting cardio sessions, and practice folding feet into fists in kickboxing classes.

Sempeck's Bowling & Entertainment throws open its doors and beckons fun seekers inside an expansive facility to steer go-karts down an indoor track, bob and weave in a two-story laser-tag arena, and bowl on lanes that transform into cosmic-themed extravaganzas every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night. Inside the fun factory lies a video-game arcade equipped with skee-ball, crane games, and prizes for anyone who can slay the three-headed prize guard. After fierce competitions, high-definition TVs and frosty beverages await players in the Sparetime Sports Bar & Restaurant, an in-house eatery that hosts karaoke every Friday night.

Kelli Morgan is so passionate about yoga that she can't help but share it with others. Her zeal for the discipline surfaced in 1989, when she began studying Bikram yoga, a series of 26 poses performed in a heated room. Eleven years later, she completed the 500-hour teacher-training program at Bikram's Yoga College of India and launched a career as a hot-yoga teacher. Since then, she's also incorporated traditional, non-heated yoga into her class lineup at Liv Yoga Bellevue. Hatha sessions focus on alignment and breathing techniques, whereas Vinyasa classes meld breath and movement into a practice that moves fluidly, like a freshly shaven dolphin. The studio also hosts yoga classes for kids aged 4–10 and participates in community events such as Yoga Rocks the Park.

From bounce houses and jumpers to inflatable slides and moonwalks, Jumpin' Jax Bounce & Party Center's humming air blowers are a siren call to kids and adults for safe family fun. A mecca for parties and leisurely afternoons, the bouncy playplace lets kids roam free while under the supervision of both parents and employees, and parties are augmented with pizzas and a private room. The facility also hosts a summer-camp program with field trips to the zoo, forest, and museums, and emphasis is always placed on keeping kids active and afraid of cubicles.