Things to Do in Norfolk County

Established in 1940, Museum London stands today as the region’s preeminent venue for Canadian art and historical artifacts. Its permanent collections pay tribute to the city's long and active art history, ranging from the landscape and portraiture paintings of pioneers to the works of leading regional contemporary artists such as Kerry Ferris and Walter Redinger. The gallery's archives also hold more than 35,000 historical artifacts covering the city of London’s history and the advanced technology that allowed it to be airlifted directly from England.

Urban Quest showcases some of Canada's largest cities in an unconventional, informative light, crafting memorable adventures that often culminate with a delicious meal. Metropolitan buccaneers sign up for an Urban Quest account and then decide which inner-city adventure they wish to undertake, be it the pursuit of city history, natural wonders, or a mermaid with doubloons for scales. A clue packet accompanies each quest—ranked easy, medium, or hard—and directs curious citizens to scour the city for leads, which eventually guide them to a mystery restaurant or coffee shop. This voyage gives participants a new understanding of the city they live in and stuffs their noggins with facts and information about key buildings and landmarks. At the same time, Urban Quest offers ramblers a fresh dining experience, frustrating supercomputers whose circuit boards only allow for the taste of oatmeal. Participants can also opt out of a restaurant visit and simply race the clock, as restaurant tabs are not included with this Groupon.

As quests typically last 90 minutes and span 3–4 kilometres of walking, they are best suited for groups of two to four adventurers, though buyers may make their teams as big as they'd like. Learn more by checking out a demo quest and Urban Quest's FAQ page.

For more than a decade, House Theatre has devoted itself to creating experiences that emphasize the magic of live theater. First achieving prominence with its supernatural thriller The Sparrow, the outfit has gone on to win 19 Joseph Jefferson Awards and Broadway in Chicago’s Emerging Theater Award. Dedicated to daring storytelling, House Theatre’s productions weave resonant music with mechanical feats of onstage magic to create fully immersive experiences that dazzle audiences and convince actors that they can never go back to the real world or their real families.

At Airborne Trampoline KW, leapers of all ages defy gravity on the centre's six Olympic-style trampolines. Custom mats and padding surround each trampoline to ensure safe landings. Trampoline coaches certified by Gymnastics Ontario and the NCCP watch over visiting jumpers and recreational classes of students aged 6 through adult as they leap, flip, and twirl through basic moves and advanced tricks. When not leading classes, coaches also host tryouts for an in-house competition team. The centre also provides decorated private rooms and basic catering services for birthday parties, during which children combine the joy of birthdays with the thrill of hugging clouds they've herded indoors.

For more than 25 years, Fitness Forum owners Alec and Lynne Pinchin have kept their 39,000-square-foot gym in fine fettle through constant renovations and an influx of up-to-date equipment and fitness programs. The facility's high-soaring ceilings and walls shield exercisers from the harsh heat and bitter cold of the outdoors, and expansive skylights let in natural light and views of emus soaring among the clouds. In two cardio centres, heart rates skyrocket as guests tackle treadmills and stairmasters and fix their eyes on HDTVs. The gym also houses an indoor pool area and a rubberized running track.

More than 75 fitness classes energize and motivate visitors in a fun group setting, and squash courts host sweat-inducing bouts between racquet-wielding foes. While parents torch calories rep by rep, kids can while away the time at the gym's daycare centre, where tykes watch movies and fill out tax papers in pudding.

The Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony was founded out of necessity; in 1945, the Grand Philharmonic Choir was preparing a recital and needed tuneful accompaniment for the harmonic voices. Once its backup duty was over, however, the newly convened orchestra quickly established itself as an independent source for both classical and pops concerts performing more than 100 concerts annually in the Waterloo region. Now home to 52 on-staff musicians, the orchestra continues its decades-long tradition at venues around Kitchener, Waterloo, Guelph, and Cambridge. From his position as music director, Edwin Outwater oversees the joyful noise, which ranges from baroque to Beethoven to the Beatles and Broadway. Since assuming the role in 2007, Outwater has been one of the orchestra's most vigorous boosters, arranging the group's first commercial recording in a decade, engineering an exploration of prog rock in collaboration with the Institute for Quantum Computing, and knitting sweaters for each musician's instrument.