Washington Guide and Deals

Not only is the Seattle Aquarium the ninth largest of its kind in the United States—with more than 22 million visitors since its opening in 1977—it is also an integral center for marine conservation and education. The exhibits display stunning creatures of land and sea, and staff biologists study the aquatic tenants to conduct critical research on giant Pacific octopuses, sixgill sharks, sea otters, and other indigenous animals.

Though the Seattle Aquarium is an advanced center for research, it isn’t all serious business and otters wearing lab coats—it also hosts numerous interactive exhibits and displays to please young and old alike. The Marine Mammals exhibit puts visitors up close with sea otters, playful river otters, harbor seals, and fur seals. The Pacific Coral Reef exhibit displays visually stunning and vibrant tropical fish, and the 120,000-gallon Windows on Washington Waters exhibit provides a floor-to-ceiling view of hundreds of Puget Sound fish, including salmon, lingcod, rockfish, and wolf eels.

The Seattle Aquarium also stays actively involved with the community. The aquarium’s biologists partner with local divers to take an annual octopus census, and each year the center trains more than 150 volunteers to teach visitors about the ecosystems of local beaches.

GameWorks fosters friendly competition between kids and adults by surrounding pizza, draft beer, and half-pound burgers with a mosaic of interactive pursuits. Each location holds more than 150 arcade-style games, which include racing and shooting challenges from Sega as well as lower-tech classics such as pinball.

The ability to swim allowed humanity to explore the seas, discover pearls inside oysters, and evolve arms devoid of inflatable muscles. Wave Aquatics Centers’ instructors understand the importance of such a skill, aiming to impart it within children and adults alike across the community. Working as a nonprofit organization fueled by the common purpose of providing students of all ages with a slew of programs and lessons, the staffers share their wisdom in Juanita and Redmond High School pools. They train their charges in competitive swimming, maintaining three teams, including a year-round Masters-level team taught by professional coaches and reformed mermaids.

With hands gripped to the wheels of karts capable of cresting 45 miles per hour, up to 12 racers hum around the hairpin turns and straightaways of K1 Speed's indoor track during adrenaline-spiking sprints toward the podium. This brand of excitement can be found at all 15 locations, where racers eschew the fumes and inflammatory skywriting of gas kart exhaust for European, eco-friendly electric karts designed to instantly accelerate out of curves, which are bordered by safety barriers that absorb impacts. To keep everyone in the chase, dialed-down junior karts (available at select locations) safely carry tiny drivers between the height of 48" and 58".

At G6 Airpark, patrons of all ages bound safely between the open-jump arena and sports-based courts that comprise the 12,000 square-foot indoor trampoline park. Interconnected trampolines bordered by neon-green pads stretch from wall to wall, encouraging guests to defy gravity's demands as they spring into the air. On the dodge-ball court, jumpers fly while skirting air-filled orbs flung from opposing teams, and on the basketball court they vault over the rim, slam dunking. Guests practice more elaborate aerial flips and full-speed hugging exercises into the foam-filled trick zone, whereas the children-only area provides a safe haven for little ones. In between leaps and bounds, bouncers halt for a pizza or shaved ice from the café, which can also supply party fare for energy-burning, activity-filled birthday parties.

In JJ Extreme territory, a girl wearing a harness is suspended from the ceiling by a rope and swings back and forth, her squeals carrying throughout the space. Elsewhere, her brothers also wear harnesses as they race one another, running toward a basketball hoop and hoping to make a shot before a bungee cord pulls them each backward across a soft, inflatable mat. Here at JJ Jump and JJ Extreme, each location sprawls over more than 4,000 square feet and teems with inflatable challenges and bouncing joy for children. JJ Jump’s jousting arena settles sibling rivalries in a civilized and laugh-filled fashion, and giant slides teach children about the effects of gravity and hair’s weakness against it as they safely soar toward the ground. Each facility also boasts a creative play zone that eschews bouncing for a while and is ripe with construction toys and a stage where children can let their imaginations run wild.