Things to Do in North Olmsted

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.

From a bird's-eye view, the emerald expanse of All American Sports Center is unmistakably devoted to the sports of golf and baseball. No less than 20 heated tees and 40 seasonal grass tees line the driving range, allowing players to keep shooting for the horizon even after the sun sets and the towering lampposts light up the field. For short games, the center also features a 10,000-square-foot putting green as well as a chipping green complete with hazards such as sand bunkers and kiddie pools full of jury summons. The 18-hole miniature golf course encourages visitors to unwind as they putt past decorative waterfalls and rivers. At the dugout, guests can switch gears to baseball or softball, taking up bats to turn away the wrath of variable-speed pitching machines.

In 1976, educator, musician, and kinesiologist Robin Wes opened The Little Gym based on his new take on physical education. His curriculum emphasized motivating children to achieve instead of pressuring them to win. As a result, The Little Gym became a noncompetitive, positive, nurturing environment where young ones could develop physically, socially, emotionally, and intellectually. Since then, Little Gyms have sprouted up across the country. Enter Kevin and Page Helmick. Kevin and Page's passion for working with children stirred the duo to open their own Little Gym locations in Liberty Township and Mason. Parents of two young boys, Kevin and Page captain a talented staff of childcare professionals and instructors that is as passionate about childhood development as they are. The programs and classes they teach aim to help kids develop skills such as rhythm and coordination, and kids camps during winter, spring, and summer breaks prevent children from creating finger paintings that express the existential ennui they feel when school is out of session. The gym's classes, camps, and childcare programs have earned this location the Best Children's Play award from Cincinnati Family Magazine.

At Fairview Lanes, balls thunder toward targets along 20 contemporary lanes, buffeting between bumpers or freewheeling by gutters during open bowling hours. At MoonRock bowling, pulsing music and radiance from lasers, disco balls, and black lights slice through darkness like the DJ's night vision goggles. On Friday and Saturday nights the music borders on edgy, but special glow bowling hours held during the day on Saturday and Sunday feature family-friendly music and videos. Café 220 stokes athleticism with fuel in the form of beer-battered cheese fries and fried pickle spears, and Mac's Pro Shop supplies essential bowling gear. The alley also hosts leagues for all ages and parties for any occasion.

Buckeye Lanes’ glossy lanes provide a place to foster camaraderie and healthy competition. Easily heftable bowling balls and bumpers accommodate children during normal business hours and birthday parties catered with hot dogs or pizza slices, which can be held in a person’s not-bowling hand. During Rockin' Bowl two nights a week, the alley morphs into a pulsing nightclub from midnight to 2 a.m. with orbs hurtling amid dimmed lighting and cranked up beats. In the snack bar and lounge, pool sticks thwack cue balls on eight billiards tables and patrons devour sandwiches or demolish karaoke tunes.

Now in its 23rd year, the I-X Indoor Amusement Park returns to the International Exposition Center with more than 20 acres of rides, games, and attractions. The indoor wonderland opens its doors from late March to early April on select dates, giving Cleveland families a springtime window to zip around on more than 30 thrill rides or read poetry to farm animals at a petting zoo. The newly added Cirque Shanghai dazzles eyes with a mammoth spectacle of daring acrobatics and motorcycle daredevilry, while daily Big Cat shows showcase the abilities of rescued tigers from a Sarasota, Florida, animal sanctuary. A collection of carnival fare, such as corn dogs, cotton candy, fresh-squeezed lemonade, and deep-fried baseball caps, rounds out the summer-like atmosphere.