Things to Do in Marion

Since 1998, ProCamps Worldwide has bridged the gap between pro athletes and their fans with a variety of instructional youth camps and fantasy camps for adults. More than 100 professional and Olympic gold-medal athletes have lent their wisdom during camps conducted across the country. For instance, the NBA's leading scorer, Kevin Durant, dishes details on his skills at a camp in Oklahoma, and Super Bowl champion and Packers linebacker Clay Matthews teaches the careful choreography of backfield disruption in Wisconsin. At fantasy camps, John Calipari and Bill Self—the two coaches who squared off in 2012's NCAA title game—give campers tours of their programs' hallowed halls.

Resplendent with a multitude of American art forms, the Fort Wayne Museum of Art brandishes masterpieces from United States artists from the late 18th century to the modern day. The permanent collection entices meandering visitors with nearly 1,400 American-grown pieces from artists including George Inness, Janet Fish, and William Forsyth, such as paintings, sculptures, photographs, and flags fashioned from apple pie. In addition to a permanent display of 56 Amish quilts, the Fort Wayne Museum of Art touts rotating exhibits such as the current Material World, a collection of textiles hailing from different countries, time periods, and transdimensional planes.

Glowing neon against the horizon, Greenbriar Cinema Grill is a hybrid house that combines a movie theater and restaurant in one experience. From the outside, the destination looks like a retro diner—inside, patrons can sink into cushy maroon chairs at tables set up throughout the theater for family bonding and comfy noshing. Greenbriar Cinema Grill offers family-friendly picks that parents can enjoy, with recent options including The Other Guys, a blank screen between showtimes, and Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore. As you and a guest marvel at the audio-visual spectacle displayed in front of you during your choice of a matinee or evening show, you can relax with a classic tub of corn kernels that have been heated into fluffy nubs with a bucket of Monsters Popcorn ($3.99), freshly popped with your choice of no butter, butter, or hold-the-popcorn butter. Though food is not included with today's Groupon, pull up a menu and take advantage of the latter half of Greenbriar's namesake with a 12-inch pizza ($9.99–$14.50), sandwiches ($6.99–$10.50), or a giant root beer float ($4.50).

Royal Pin’s four bowling centers each boast 80 gleaming lanes, but their widely varied facilities offer far more than games of tenpins. The Woodland location, voted Best Bowling in Indianapolis by CityVoter, ups the ante with flat screens above the lanes and cushy couches where players recline while waiting their turn to take a ride through the pinsetter. Its adjacent mini-golf course, Pirates’ Cove, sends putters on a salty adventure with 18 Lilliputian fairways populated by streams, waterfalls, and a pirate ship. The Expo location switches it up with a gaming arcade and Laser Storm laser tag, where players battle for rights to moon territories.

At all four locations, cosmic-bowling nights create a psychedelic atmosphere with fog, music, and black lights. Darts fly and pool balls clack in their lounges, and the Royal Cafe fuels revelry with hamburgers and tenderloin sandwiches, as well as brews poured at a full-service bar. Besides their alleys, Royal Pin also manages the 5-acre Greatimes Family Fun Park, where kids zip around a go-cart track, bounce through a multilevel playland, or pilot bumper boats equipped with blaster squirt guns and highly sensitive grownup detectors.

Although some would say a creative escape is sneaking out the bathroom window using only your wits and your pocket ladder, the friendly staff at The Creative Escape encourages you to escape via the customization of serving plates, piggy banks, saucers, and more. Decorate a dish or craft your own mosaic with pieces ranging from $14 to $50, with many items around $20. Select from a wide range of tools and paint colors as you craft a personal magnum opus that will be glazed and fired by the studio in one week's time.

A climber dangles from his belay rope, punching his fists into the air victoriously after reaching the top of the wall. At Climb Time Indy, more than 8,500 square feet of indoor climbing space host 4,000 different holds, giving the walls the colorful appearance of the bench where giants dispose of unwanted chewing gum. The climbing routes are changed regularly by meticulous and experienced climbers, granting regulars new challenges every week. Kids can join in the fun and learn the ropes with coaching during weekly club meetings; private lessons help more mature scalers brush up on skills.