Things to Do in Portsmouth

Lurking in the darkness of moisture-saturated topsoil, the mud ninja challenges only the toughest competitors to attempt his 5K obstacle-laden course. Serving the dual purpose of allowing entrants to live out their reality-show fantasies while helping to raise money for Autism Speaks, the Mud Ninja race requires participants to crawl through mud pits covered with barbed wire and scale steep walls before leaping onto multiple mounds that punish imbalanced racers with a splash. Throughout the 5K course, contestants splat into mud pits in front of hundreds of spectators. The Little Mud Ninja race scales the course for younger racers, and an after-party engages all with music and a plethora of food vendors.

The brainchild of a painter and a photographer, Pop Revolution Gallery zeroes in on the relationship between art and modern society with exhibits that showcase work from local artists. In addition to displaying artwork, the creative minds behind the gallery also outline it: with nearly 20 years of experience, they can handle any custom framing project. Artists themselves, the experts can assist with helpful suggestions as patrons browse more than 2,000 mouldings that add flair to paintings, complement sports jerseys, or give an air of authority to fraudulent tax returns.

Keeping up with the latest technology, Pop Revolution Gallery recently extended its endeavors with PRG Fine Art Printing, which generates digital prints on high-quality papers and canvas gallery wraps. The staff also fosters creativity with art classes that teach pupils of all ages to make everything from basic sketches and watercolors to sculptures crafted with wire instead of cement and their little sister.:m]]

Scallywag Tag's arena dazzles eyes with a black-lit, neon-tinged pirate ship and 18th-century Caribbean village, which provides a labyrinth of fluorescent walls for marauding swashbucklers. After being split into two competing crews, participants receive a vest, a phaser, and instructions to tally as many points as possible by tagging opponents, swarming the enemy's home base, or holding a referee hostage until he or she doctors the score. The score itself is broadcast on wide-screen LCD scoreboards, but those who are too busy taking out the adversary to look at them can take heart knowing that at the end of the game, the referees announce the winning team.

Outside the fast-paced laser-tag arena, Scallywag Tag encourages visitors to recharge with a drink or a slice of pizza from the snack bar. The arcade sections also distract patrons by featuring perennial classics such as air hockey as well as new favorites, including Time Crisis 3 and Find That W2 Form.

The West-side location additionally lures younger passersby with a pirate-themed jump house and a 35-foot-long slide in the family entertainment center. The West-side’s black-light miniature golf tests hand-eye coordination skills, leading guests through a gauntlet of 18 holes that similarly embrace the pirate theme.

Colonial Pines Golf Club’s 18-hole course blankets 127 acres of tranquil Ohio Valley farmland for 5,966 yards of rolling hills and imposing hardwoods. Golfers traverse the par 70 layout on the backs of motorized carts or caddies hoping to improve their piggyback-ride form, steering balls away from a menagerie of hazards, including mounds topped with swaying heathers, woodsy thickets, and six lakes spanning 11 acres. The first tee shot aptly foreshadows a round in which avoiding water hazards and ingratiating oneself to ball-stealing fish will be critical, as drives must cross a pond that runs from the tee box to the beginning of the fairway.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 70 course
• Length of 5,966 yards from the farthest tees
• Course rating of 68.3 from the farthest tees
• Slope rating of 117 from the farthest tees
• Three tee options
• Link to scorecard

Train hobbyist Don Oeters founded EnterTRAINment Junction in 2008 to showcase railroading in an educational and amusing way. Two years later, his 80,000-square-foot facility was voted Ohio's Best Family Entertainment Center of 2010.

At the centerpiece, a 25,000-square-foot indoor model train display dazzles visitors with 90 G-scale trains and 2 miles of track winding through handcrafted landscapes, including an 11-foot waterfall, thousands of trees, and scenes documenting railroad's early, middle, and modern periods. Each train car is the size of a loaf of bread, making it easier for groups to see it or break it into communal pieces, and Oeters and his staff continually tweak the locomotive's surroundings by adding seasonal touches and installing minor or major updates. Historical train artifacts, educational videos, and interactive exhibits await amblers in the railroad museum, and the Imagination Junction kids' area entertains youngsters with train-themed play structures, hand-cranked and electronic locomotive rides, and a section dedicated to Thomas the Tank Engine, the first train to successfully learn sign language.

Though Master Sun Park's friendly demeanor doesn't suggest it, a powerful warrior lies behind his warm smile and crisp, white uniform. At age 11, Park earned a third-degree black belt in tae kwon do before continuing on to win numerous championship titles in Ohio state and national competitions. Now, with more than 43 years of martial-arts experience beneath his fifth-degree black belt, Park extends his expertise to students 4 and older at his private training studio.

Plush blue mats stretch across the studio's floor, where Park and his staff of WTF- and USAT-certified instructors lead tae kwon do and kickboxing classes for children and adults alike, in addition to personal-training sessions. They strive to promote physical fitness along with the values of discipline, responsibility, and confidence. Throughout the studio, students wallop punching bags, halve wooden boards, and carve the likeness of Jean-Claude Van Damme into stone with just their fists of fury.