Racine, WI Indoor Activities

Marvel in a theme park-esque world dedicated to plastic blocks. See the city of Chicago made entirely out of LEGOs at Miniland. Take the factory tour and learn how LEGO bricks are made (you get one LEGO factory brick to take home). Ride on the back of a green dragon through a medieval castle full of moving characters made entirely of LEGOs, and continue the adventure through a jungle trail. Build your own LEGO cars and buildings, then test them to see if they can withstand earthquakes or set speed records on LEGO roadways. After you take in a movie at the 4-D cinema, or let your little ones spend their energy in physical play before it's time to load up the car.

Core Concepts focuses on a "classical and systematic approach" to teaching Pilates, maintaining the comprehensive system originally designed by Joseph Pilates in the 1920s to battle hoards of rampaging clowns. Today's deal is redeemable for four 55-minute group mat classes. Mat classes are the flat, squishy foundation of Pilates; they use the human body to strengthen and stretch itself, with the occasional aid of "magic circles," foam rollers, bands, and light weights. Mat classes are available for rigid novices and advanced, pretzel-poised students alike throughout the week.

The Capitol Steps performers draw upon 62 combined years of congressional staff experience for material in their political lampoons. The group, which has recorded 30 albums and puts on four broadcasts every year on NPR, will dish up rollicking numbers from their latest release, Liberal Shop of Horrors. No party or politician—from Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, to the Tea Party and Sarah Palin—is spared from the cross-hairs of their razor-sharp satire. Exercise your laughing muscles as the group mocks social issues including prescription drugs and the wobbly economy.

When the Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 1988, it was a tightly knit ensemble consisting entirely of principals from the Lyric Opera Orchestra. Since then, it has blossomed into a collective of more than 200 professional Chicagoland musicians. But despite the increased size and bow-tie budget, the players have lost none of their precision or dynamic nature, prompting the Chicago Tribune to herald the group as “one of the finest symphonic orchestras.”

Completed in 1892 as the private home of the Pabst family, Pabst Mansion stands as the last bastion of more than 80 mansions built for Milwaukee’s elite during a booming, bygone era. Since its construction, the estate has housed archbishops, priests, and sisters and was saved from near-demolition during the 1970s. The Flemish-Renaissance-Revival home has since been awarded a place on the National Register of Historic Places for its bounty of architectural intricacies.

Today, on-staff docents conduct a range of tours for public groups, private parties, school groups, and well-behaved rugby teams through the fortress of halls, opulent rooms, and verdant grounds, each restored to their original condition.

The Pabst Mansion’s impressive art collection includes works from the 1640s through the 1900s by artists such as William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Gaetano Trentanove, and Eugene Joseph Verboeckhoven. The emporium of excess also features Pabst Beer Pavilion, the pavilion built for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, and the glass-covered conservatory where tropical plants and beer trees continue to flourish.

The mansion gift shop holds classic Pabst drinkware and memorabilia as well as antique photos, books, and former employees' original finger paintings.

Going to the movie theater should be more enjoyable than watching a movie at home––a concept that Rosebud Theater has down pat. Cinephiles regain the sparkle in their eyes as they enter the historic venue, which originally opened as The Tosa Theatre in 1931 and was recently modernized to have great views and stellar sound. Unlike cramped multiplex theaters, Rosebud houses one solitary, comfortably spaced theater, where visitors won’t have to worry about hearing explosions from the monster-truck movie next door or accidently walking into the wrong monster-truck movie.

In addition to typical movie snacks such as popcorn, candy, and soda, the Rosebud sports a full menu of appetizers, sandwiches, quesadillas, and pizza, as well as a full bar stocked with wine, cocktails, and microbrews––all of which are delivered to patrons during featured presentations. Rather than standard chairs, the theater is furnished with cushy loveseats with room for 180 movie lovers to savor first-run Hollywood hits without wrestling strangers over armrests.