Things to Do in Laurel

One of the Science Museum of Virginia’s current exhibits includes a few basketball players—just don’t expect LeBron James or Kobe Bryant. These basketball players are two rats, playing a live one-on-one game to demonstrate operant and classical conditioning. Throughout the three-story museum, more hands-on examples of science await at five permanent exhibits. Inspect a rock from the moon, explore a life-size space capsule, and generate energy by pedaling a stationary bike. Kids can even build their own playground with materials such as mats and foam blocks.

Inside the IMAX Dome, a screen 10 times the size of a typical 35 mm screen shows a wide range of educational films. Outside the museum, plants in the BayScapes Garden thrive without pesticide, fertilizer, or the encouragement of a motivational speaker, and an onsite greenhouse offers free planting areas for visitors to contribute greenery and learn about sustainable farming.

In 1997, Nancy Glenmore Tatum and Kevin Casey founded Glenmore Yoga & Wellness Center in their house's sunroom. Their operation's therapeutic blend of yoga, massage, and consultation services attracted a wide enough student base to necessitate three expansions, and Nancy and Kevin eventually settled in the Glen Eagles Shopping Center. They still uphold a central belief that "yoga is for everyone," and have upheld that philosophy by building a time machine to let the late Ben Franklin participate. Nancy and Kevin have also cultivated a nurturing community with resources such as workshops and teacher training that promote its growth.

The center's impressive roster of yoga classes covers the flowing Vinyasa poses as well as specialty courses for prenatal mothers, older adults, and kids. Every class pays attention to the individual needs of its students, just as the massage services modify their kneads to better treat specific tensions. A calming interior contributes to Glenmore's warm ambiance: two carpeted studios, a massage room, and a lounge accommodate its guests. Students can also borrow the yoga books and videos of the lending library, so long as they turn in their senses of balance as collateral.