Things to Do in Mount Vernon

Inflated structures, slides, and games fill the climate-controlled environs of the numerous BounceU locations that speckle the nation. At each site, staff members closely monitor all activities as little ones traverse obstacle courses or pull on oversized inflatable boxing gloves. The crew also invites parents to join in on the fun, letting them bounce alongside their kids or make sweeping edicts from atop a bouncy-castle throne.

In addition to open sessions, the indoor-play haven sets the stage for the Preschool Playdate program, where instructors lead games and activities. Special events include family-bounce night, which lets parents join in the bouncing or relax in the party room and do grownup things, such as eat marshmallows with a knife and fork.

Helmed by United States Coast Guard captains, Western Sound Charter’s premium boats can just as easily jaunt through Long Island Sound to the Statue of Liberty as they can wend their way along fishing routes replete with striped bass. The fleet encompasses six boat styles, which range from a 25-foot hardtop to a child-safe sightseeing and fishing vessel, whose floodlights can illuminate night expeditions and easily stand up to the bullying of pompous lighthouses. The company can accommodate parties of up to 100, and an advanced pairing service matches each client to an activity-appropriate boat.

Sip the nectar of life while learning how to accurately discern the difference between nutty life and oaky life with today’s delicately fermented deal. For $95, you get one admission to any 2010 premium VIP all-inclusive tour from Long Island Wine Country. Your Groupon is good until year's end and gets you access to whichever event you would like to attend, although a $50 surcharge will apply to the August 14th Summer Never Ends tour with the Lobster Bake dinner. Wine may contain trace amounts of alcohol and other things unsuitable for minors (grapes), so tour-goers must be at least 21 years of age.

Little Shop of Crafts occupies hands and kindles artistic spirits with a wealth of do-it-yourself pottery and plaster painting as well as mosaic projects supplemented by a multitude of paints and supplies. Crafters choose from more than 700 pieces of pristine paintables and 40 paints, gleaning helpful instruction from staff members about tools, layering methods, and fooling archeologists. Studio time is free, so budding artists may stay for any length of time needed to complete their projects without incurring an extra cost. Ceramic bisque ($19.95+) comes in the form of mugs, cereal bowls, and cookie jars, each professionally finished in a food-safe glaze and kiln fired free of charge. Hundreds of plaster figurines ($15.95+) await adornment by talented hands, after which staff members cover each flame-flanked racecar or NFL-themed unicorn in a long-lasting sealant. Alternatively, mosaic kits ($21.95+) swathe picture frames and other keepsakes in a kaleidoscope of colorful tiles, and customizable teddy bears and T-shirts show off the softer side of artistry. Groupon holders also receive 10% off private parties, and more mature imagineers can stimulate creativity with complimentary wine Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, or Saturday evenings, depending on location.

Make Meaning brims with skilled staff members who unleash floods of creativity with an arsenal of crafting supplies, earning kudos from New York magazine. The store’s membership program, the Smile High Club, allows members to waive all sitting fees (ordinarily $12/session) and pay only for any materials used while fashioning glass, paper, candles, soap, jewelry, or ceramics into festive masterpieces. Explore Make Meaning’s nearly 6,000-square-foot wonderland, composing a symphony of color and scent on a customizable candle or constructing stunning muse-lures from a cornucopia of jewelry materials.

Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Times Square winds visitors through twisted halls housing more than 500 artifacts of whimsy, horror, curiosity, and intrigue. Along self-guided tours of the Odditorium, groups of awestruck wanderers interact gaze upon a two-headed cow, an albino giraffe, and the skeleton of a giant crocodile while perusing more than 20 themed galleries. Pickled heads stare out of jars and medieval torture devices such as dot-matrix printers hang from the ceiling while an authentic hunk of the Berlin wall stands in remembrance of the time it got to meet David Hasselhoff.

Outside, beneath the marquee, guests witness the antics of performers swallowing swords, breathing fire, and pushing the limits of the human body. Back inside, guests navigate Ripley’s laser maze, contorting and slithering through a room crisscrossed with green lasers. The playhouse of eccentricities—a birthday-party hot spot—and its Odd Shop stock enough insect candy and one-eyed stuffed canines to feed a pet clown for months.