Powell, OH Indoor Activities

Resting in shallow waters, the faithful wooden re-creation of Columbus’s flagship Santa Maria puts into perspective the lives of sailors as they crossed the Atlantic in cramped quarters, wholly beholden to wind and weather. On board, guides and crewmembers reenact daily life as it must have been for the legendary explorer and his crew, conveniently providing English subtitles for each boisterous Spanish sea shanty. Apart from regular daily tours, themed events such as Talk Like a Pirate Weekend or the Gospel Sail-A-Bration showcase the talents of pirate impersonators and area gospel performers, respectively.

A distributor of children's playground and sports equipment, Recreations Outlet has been fortifying playtime with safely constructed fun fixtures since 1990. The outlet houses an expansive show room brandishing apparatuses that parents can purchase and install at home, such as Amish-built playhouses, monkey towers, and fenced-in Springfree trampolines that keep kids in and competitive kangaroos out. In addition to its regular shopping hours, Recreations Outlet invites little ones to come test out the fun factor of its wares during open-play sessions or hosted birthday parties.

The ballroom at Newport Music Hall has survived nearly 90 years of history with most of its architecture intact, welcoming crowds of up to 1,700 concert-goers or several hundred hippopotamuses, depending on the event. Located on the campus of Ohio State University, the venue has hosted such stars as Neil Young, the Violent Femmes, George Clinton, Joe Satriani, and the Foo Fighters.

For Kingdom of Bounce owners and lifelong bounce enthusiasts Sara and Jason O., the best part about coming to work is seeing the faces of each awestruck child the moment they first catch sight of the giant floor-to-ceiling inflatables. Bounceable obstacle courses, slides, and castles reign supreme inside their air-conditioned facility, where youngsters are encouraged to run, jump, and ricochet off the walls. Carefully supervised by Sara and Jason's capable staff, sock-clad wee ones defy gravity during all-access open-bounce sessions, parties for up to 25 guests, and Pizza-and-a-Bounce events that fuel leaps with slices of pizza while parents and errant inflatable knights stay equally entertained via complimentary WiFi.

The oldest surviving theater in central Ohio, the fin de siècle elegance of the Southern Theatre's jewel-box auditorium transports audiences back to the days of vaudeville antics and silver-screen spectacle. Built in 1896 to state-of-the-art standards, the theater's bandshellesque proscenium bucked architectural norms to funnel sound into the seats. Its 204 light bulbs required that the theater generate its own electricity for years, until scientists figured out that nobody needed to worry about that stuff.

At GoYoga, certified instructors welcome students of all skill levels by demonstrating modifications that make poses easier for beginners or trickier for veterans. During Flow Fundamentals classes, they gently adjust alignment as students build strength and release stress with basic poses. Deep breaths power full-fledged Flow routines, which revolve around graceful Vinyasa sequences that more closely resemble dance steps. In addition to hosting beat-driven Groove sessions, the studio holds many types of classes inside an 85-degree room, which ousts toxins and allows muscles to feel as limber as a freshly massaged puddle.