Things to Do in Rockville Centre

More than 100 tricky routes dot the 30-foot climbing walls and 25-foot rappel tower inside Island Rock. The facility's 9,000 square feet of indoor climbing surfaces are all constructed to look and feel like real rocks, so climbers can close their eyes and picture themselves scaling K2 or the Venus de Milo. Knowledgeable staffers oversee attempts at the lead wall and bouldering cave and steer patrons toward a training room equipped with Cybex and cardio equipment. After a long day of climbing, guests can refresh in the locker rooms' showers and saunas.

Long Island's Laser Bounce houses a quintet of interactive, family-friendly attractions within its massive indoor facility. An intergalactic-theme laser-tag arena shelters gunsmiths as they blast opponent targets and players during 15-minute games, and the bounce arena's assortment of inflatable slides and bouncers engages kids as guardians surf free WiFi from the seating area's comfy couches. In the Ballocity arena, blasters, vacuum cannons, buckets, and minor-league pitchers launch thousands of soft foam balls throughout the play area's multilevel platforms. For classic recreation, the center's arcade brims with pinball, air hockey, and a 35-foot-long ticket-redemption center. The various diversions can be enjoyed during drop-in play times, or as part of celebrations with the purchase of one of several party packages.

Always-At-Aum Yoga School helps both aspiring instructors and recreational sun saluters hone their mind-body practice, offering 200-hour certification programs and a robust schedule of drop-in classes. Owner and yogi educator Robin Appel utilizes certifications in Pilates, restorative yoga, youth fitness, and reiki as she and her experienced staff promote healthy living with a diverse collection of class styles, including kids yoga, hot Vinyasa, and yoga for athletes. For more personalized attention, students can arrange for an in-class private session, during which a second instructor provides hands-on guidance as the rest of the class follows the regular regimen. Teachers-in-training can pursue their own certifications with in-depth instruction, delving into such topics as injury management, human anatomy, and using one’s third eye to watch for falling pianos.

In 1976, Joan Barnes—a Californian mom frustrated with the lack of spaces where she could take her kids for safe and age-appropriate play time—took matters into her own hands and founded Gymboree Play & Music. In the decades since Gymboree’s founding, Joan’s vision of a safe place where youngsters could build confidence and creativity has come to fruition and spread to 30 countries around the globe. Staffed by attentive and expertly trained instructors, each Gymboree outpost adheres to a curriculum of activities designed by experts to foster the development of children’s cognitive, physical, and social skills through structured play and close readings of Goodnight Moon. The staffers also conduct entertaining classes that cover subjects ranging from music to sports, imparting valuable lessons of imagination and physical activity to developing minds. To further set apart her business, Barnes employed nationally renowned playground designer Jay Beckwith to design the proprietary play equipment at her centers.

Adopting the mantra "from Mommy & Me to the SAT," the yearly All Kids Fair intends to enrich the lives and the potential of young people through high-school age with a day's worth of educational exhibits and family-oriented diversions. Youths enjoy entertainment that includes balloon-twisting clowns, kid yoga classes, and special appearances by engaging guests. Meanwhile, parents and guardians collect valuable strategies for parent-child success from informational booths and expert presenters on such topics as financial planning for children, navigating socialization and therapeutic services, and paying for college. Each year attendees leave with new developmental wisdom and tips on staying healthy via the fair's array of screenings for common youth conditions, such as scoliosis, ADD, and text-message cooties.