Things to Do in Plymouth

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.

Chippewa Bowl has plenty of space where bowlers can let their inner competitor roam free—70 lanes worth of space, to be exact. While pins clatter in the bowling area, players can refuel at the Laneside Grill or grab a drink at one of two sports bars, both of which host karaoke on Friday and Sunday evenings. Guests can also try their luck at an arcade game that spits out tickets, which they can swap for prizes or attempt to swap for admittance to a Bon Jovi concert.

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.

Nick Kant and Heather Adams wanted the already extraordinary feeling of free fall to be even more incomparable for their customers. The couple devised a skydiving business that could be exhilarating not only for the jumpers but for their family and friends. At Skydive Great Lakes, nonskydivers are welcome to cheer on their flying pals in drop zones designed for spectators, who can view a live video feed from onboard the aircraft. Nick's skills as an aerial videographer allow clients to capture every moment of an inaugural tandem dive, from the initial jump-off to the inevitable midair arguments with Peter Pan. Flying out of Goshen, ground-school grads can board a yellow Pilatus Porter plane that fits up to 10 jumpers. Heather and Nick are the only enthusiasts in the country who launch skydivers from a Sikorsky S-55 helicopter, which hovers over drop zones on select weekends.

Hart City Scuba’s team of dive masters and instructors turn mere waders into full-blown explorers of the aquatic world. They achieve that through group and private scuba programs such as open water diver, rescue diver, and conversational mermaid. In addition, they can mend any dive gear gone awry and fill tanks with fresh O2.

When deciding what toys and games to stock at Imagine That!, owner Marlene says, “I ask myself, 'Can they get this at Toys"R"Us?' And if they can, I don’t get it.” Marlene, who has an extensive background in child development, prefers games that ask for strategy skills and toys that develop deductive reasoning. “You see those players who are just driven to win,” she says, “But that’s not fun.” Marlene likes games that level the playing field and invite everyone to have fun while using their brains. She has paired such games with everyone from 18-month-old babies to seniors who can still remember when jigsaw puzzles were chiseled from spare wooden teeth.

Marlene began with making crafts and learning activities for her own children, but as soon as she broke out the art supplies, the neighborhood kids started emerging from their prairie-dog holes. Inspired by her youthful following, Marlene began an interactive crafts stall at the farmer’s market. She expanded from her 8’x12’ stall 15 years later to the 11-room Imagine That!, where little hands find paints and easels, clever toys, and miniatures for furnishing dollhouses or entertaining well-trained gerbils.

“They come from all over, even Canada,” Marlene says of her dollhouse miniatures' customers. In addition to myriad miniatures and walls filled with toys and games, Imagine That! has craft rooms, a puppet area, and a chamber filled with whirligigs. The whirligigs also blossom in front of the rainbow-hued shop itself, beckoning passersby to stop in and explore.