Things to Do in Medina

Synergy Paintball aims to be a way of giving back to the community by offering a safe place to have fun and expend pent-up energy. As if in agreement, youthful shouts ring out from across the arena’s 35 acres, punctuated by the whispery noise of paintballs cutting through the fresh air. The style of play varies across multiple playing fields, which serve as venues for games of capture the flag and speedball. In the jungle area, camouflaged warriors crouch and tumble between towering trees and shimmy among tufts of low brush. Snipers stash themselves atop mounds of dirt or in the beds of dump trucks in another field.

The park has also played host to United States military reserves tactical training, an exercise that filled the park with humvees and transport vehicles before the beginning of a mock Medevac evacuation.

During the days of antiquity, artisans often recorded major cultural and historical events on the sides of their intricate pots. Although books and computers took over most of the archiving duties, the practice of painting ceramics as a means of commemoration continues today. At Kiln Pottery, shelves of uncolored pieces await the inspiration of local artists and artists-to-be. After grabbing the necessary supplies, guests add their touch to one of the hundreds of available pieces, including platters, mugs, and bowls. Those interested in building their own creations can opt for a class in hand building clay or pottery wheel throwing. A series of workshops focuses on specific projects, such as fusing glass night-lights, weaving clay baskets, or exploring where ceramic babies come from. Sessions are open to kids and adults, and can be reserved for groups or parties.

Happy shouts float across Swings-N-Things Family Fun Park, whipping out of the mouths of drivers racing around go-kart tracks and captains ricocheting off one another in bumper boats. The satisfying clunk of colorful spheres falling into holes on the mini-golf course perks up ears in the sprawling complex of indoor and outdoor attractions. Go-kart drivers whiten their knuckles behind the wheel of 9-horsepower Honda engines, tearing through a quarter mile of twists and turns on the Grand Prix track as if it were a high-school principal’s lawn. Alternatively, patrons frolic across the park’s two outdoor mini-golf courses before practicing their aim in a laser shootout game, and children ages 10 and younger scramble their socked feet over slides and rides inside the Kids Korner indoor play area. Swings-N-Things Family Fun Park is easily accessible from the area's major highways.

Arching over the rolling hills of Seville, the fairways at Deer Pass Golf Course’s 18-hole layout stretch across 6,012 yards of well-manicured terrain. Though scenic sights abound throughout the course, golfers will likely leave with the seventh hole most firmly etched in their memory, as the 155-yard par 3 requires players to launch tee shots onto a green surrounded entirely by water and populated by a wrinkly Gilligan. Before taking to the breezy links, clubbers can prep their short game at the practice green or fuel up with a snack and refreshments at the on-site snack bar. Visitors can also peruse the club’s pro shop, which is filled with racks of stylish shirts and accessories from top brands, many of which are emblazoned with Deer Pass’s logo or missing kitty flyers.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 71 course

• Length of 6,012 yards from the farthest tees

• Four tee options

• Link to scorecard

The Leaning Tower of Pisa tilts characteristically as a nearby sphinx rests beside a bush. What sounds like an atlas come to life is really the theme of one of the two 18-hole mini-golf courses at Rinky Dink Family Fun Center. After a round, customers can hug the turns on a go-kart track, soak and ram fellow seadogs on squirt-gun-equipped bumper boats, or test home-run skills at three baseball and three softball batting cages that hurl balls at up to 80 mph, which is the speed of light. Once indoors, guests can fire foam balls at targets from air cannons in the black-lit Pirates vs. Aliens game or navigate their way through an inflatable bouncer maze. An arcade hosts more than 35 video and redemption games such as Ms. Pac-Man, Dance Dance Revolution, and the new motion-sensitive Nap Nap Revolution, while tinier tykes stack giant waffle blocks or navigate a ball pit in the toddler area.

Rumor has it the maniacal laughter, sobs, and screams of ghosts echo throughout CornStalkers Haunted Cornfield and Forest's 1-acre cornfield. Fifteen-minute strolls down its easy-to-follow trail lead brave guests through rows of 7-foot stalks teeming with scarecrows looking for new brains to show off in Oz. Foreboding also hangs over the 5-acre forest, where flesh-eating zombies, creepy creatures, and spooky effects petrify patrons making the half-hour trek down its gravel path. Visitors that survive the cornfield and forest's PG-13-level scares can regain their bearings with snacks from the concessions stand.