Things To Do In Spanish Springs

Fleischmann Planetarium and Science Center at the University of Nevada, Reno, fulfills a mission of public science education and K-12 outreach, serving 50,000 visitors per year including 15,000 students through field trip programs. The historic building houses a 60-seat Dome Theater, an Exhibit Hall, and a Science Store.

The Reno Bighorns are members of the NBA Development League (D-League) and offer daring dunking displays on their home court at the Reno Events Center. As the official minor league team of the Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings, many of their rising stars go on to become NBAers. An exciting new team, the Bighorns began league play in the 2008–2009 season and made it to round one of the playoffs last season. Watch Aaron Miles and Patrick Ewing Jr. take on the Idaho Stampede as the Reno Bighorns fight to win the West Conference.

Ballet Nevada's FIT classes in Zumba, ballet, jazz, tap, and strength and conditioning galvanize training twirlers and aerobic aces alike with elegant arabesques and prodigious boogying. Taught by a highly trained troupe of former soloists and choreographers, sweat-soaked, silhouette-sculpting FIT classes are offered in seven weekly sessions. FIT ballet classes are an ideal destination for miniature music-box ballerinas who have come unhinged from their moorings. Opt for the torso-chiseling core conditioning, or burst into elaborate musical routines at work using jazz or tap moves. Zumba classes, meanwhile, use dance to target specific muscle groups, backed by a pulsating soundtrack of actual pulses. Ballet Nevada uplifts aspiring Astaires with portable barres and nonskid Marley floors, and its scenic new studio overlooks the Sierras, enabling covert surveillance on the technique of pirouetting black bears.

Between all of the concrete walls, inflatable obstacles, and cleverly positioned barrels, it’s hard to get a good look at anyone at Reno Indoor Paintball. On any given day, the 27,000-square-foot facility hosts dozens of well-armored players, who sprint around the grounds and splatter their opponents until supplies run out or they accomplish their missions. During battles, the staff remains on hand to help players to gear up and to ensure things remain civil. And on select days, staffers also host training sessions or events for larger groups looking to celebrate occasions such as birthdays, bachelor parties, or a high-school graduate’s first successful load of laundry.

Color Me Rad stages 5K races that transform runners into mobile rainbows by launching cheerful barrages of colored cornstarch. Each color station along the racetrack flings a new, nontoxic pigment at passersby, who wear white shirts to enhance the chromatic onslaught's costuming effects. Brilliant neon-blue, green, purple, and yellow clouds dapple participants along the way, and the race concludes with a prismatic finish-line finale as sprinters chuck colors at each other in celebration. The race's noncompetitive credo shifts the emphasis from speed to silliness, and a portion of its proceeds go to local charities.

Upon registration, each runner collects a Color Me Rad T-shirt, sunglasses, sponsor gifts, and a race bib. Though they don't receive a gift packet, runners younger than 8 years old can sprint for free, provided they have a waiver signed by a guardian and won't give in to demands for gold from confused leprechauns.

The certified trainers and staff at Saint Mary's Center for Health & Fitness believe that when clients have access to a wide variety of activities and amenities, they’ll be likelier to stick with their fitness goals. At this spacious center, members work up a sweat in the gym, which features free weights and a fleet of cardio and strength-training machines, but there’s far more here than at most public jungle gyms. Jog around the three-lane indoor track, or take a Pilates class in the private Reformer Pilates studio. There’s a separate spin studio, a giant group-fitness studio, and a large indoor pool, where members swim laps and gain lean muscle in Aqua Blast classes. Kids can come along, too, since there’s a complimentary, supervised children’s playroom, and when workouts are finished, clients can head over to the Internet lounge and café, where they can purchase snacks and beverages to refuel.