Things to Do in Mishawaka

Artist Mike Buszuwski wanted to create “an inspirational place for kids to come and explore art.” Thus, Painting Fun Spot was born. He and his artistic staff equip artists of all ages with all the necessary supplies—nontoxic, USA-made plaster pieces, paints, sealants, and paintball guns—to create colorful sculptures in a relaxed, kid-friendly studio complete with booster seats and pint-sized aprons. Vibrant walls and an undersea mural inspire creativity during studio time, summer camps, and parties and help budding artists bestow blank plaster canvases with hand-painted masterpieces.

Painting Fun Spot also hosts painting fun art classes, during which instructor Tonya Warnke Buszuwski, a professional artist with works in collections throughout the U.S., instructs adults in the finer points of pigment placement. She leads students step by step through a selected canvas work, capturing the tranquility of an impressionistic Tuscan countryside, the bold hues of a cross, or a trio of tulips playing poker with a basset hound.

Pinz Kalamazoo celebrates classic tenpin competition throughout the week with open hours, league opportunities, and cosmic bowling sessions. On top of all 36 synthetic bowling surfaces, bowlers can await upcoming frames while relaxing on luxury couches or peering deep into flat-screen television sets. On Friday and Saturday evenings, the lanes take on glowing hues that emulate the experience of bowling under the Northern Lights without the inconvenience of getting frostbite. At the onsite bar and grill, guests can snack on hearty pub selections including burgers, wraps, corn dogs, and barbecue nachos. Pinz Kalamazoo’s game room is equipped with pool tables, air-hockey tables, dartboards, and a digital jukebox capable of plucking old 45s from the far reaches of the Internet.

Family owned and operated since 1998, the Wayne Recreation Center echoes daily with the sounds of bowling balls cracking against pins from its 32 automatic-scoring lanes. Casual bowlers gather to test their hurling accuracy or over-the-shoulder throwing creativity, and leagues for adults, kids, and seniors offer weekly competitions for bragging rights or cash prizes. On Friday and Saturday nights, the alley transforms into a Cosmic Bowling command center, with Brunswick-licensed lighting, sound, and video equipment creating a fluorescent jungle alit with glowing orbs and otherworldly T-shirt lint.

The menagerie of inflatable stations at Concord Bounce test the seemingly limitless energy of their young patrons within a climate-controlled atmosphere. Inflatable pirate ships and castles stimulate the imagination as their inhabitants play and socialize. An 18-foot slide, inflatable tee-ball field and air-filled obstacle course help children to develop motor skills and eliminate the need for parents to drench daily exercise in applesauce. As their children frolic, adult visitors can smile quietly to themselves knowing that the staff cleans and sterilizes the sock-friendly structures before each playtime. Alternately, they can supervise from within the play area or entertain themselves with arcade games, television, and free WiFi.

Mudderland transmutes one of the Midwest's largest motocross tracks into a swampy test of endurance, challenging thrill-seekers across 3.5 miles of military-style obstacles. Unfurled across the site of a WWII munitions factory, the one-day, full-body assault sends participants running, climbing, and crawling through a lineup of natural barriers, including a 19-foot concrete wall that sprouted from a radioactive apple seed during the 1940s. As limbs splash through ponds, slither through tunnels, and flail wildly while soaring down monstrous slip and slides, spectators bask in the muddy melee from elevated bleachers and VIP viewing decks. Afterward, fresh water bursts from the course's showers to blast away dirt and reveal each participant's new layer of confidence.