West Sacramento, CA Indoor Activities

A pilot sinks into her cockpit, buckles up, checks the controls, and gets ready for takeoff. The engine hums to life and soon the ground rolls beneath her, until she lifts away and the buildings nearby shrink to the size of dust motes. But there's something unusual with the scene: the pilot isn't old enough to see a PG-13 movie let alone pilot an aircraft. That's because the Aerospace Museum of California doesn't let age become a barrier to flight. Children of all sizes climb into airplanes, pilot virtual jets in simulators, and experiment with the physics of flight while adults do the same, exploring the history of aviation both on Earth and beyond.

More than 37,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor exhibits chronicle everything from the very first airplanes made of cloth and wood to futuristic Mars-destined craft made of space-wood. Some of the museum’s prize possessions include the McDonnell-Douglas A-4C Skyhawk I, better known as one of the Blue Angels’ stunt rides, and the Grumman F-14D Tomcat, just like the one co-starring in the 1986 film Top Gun. The Fun with Physics exhibit hammers home the idea of hands-on learning, letting young engineers play with simple machines, whereas the engine room dishes up eye-candy for motorheads, including specimens from 1910’s Le Rhone to the marvels that propelled the Titan rockets.

For more than 32 years, Punch Line Comedy Club has hosted such comedic greats as Robin Williams, Ellen DeGeneres, and Chris Rock. Backed by a panoramic mural of the cityscape, national acts and local favorites send their shrewd observations out to audience members, who seat themselves at tables nestled close to the stage in hopes of being baptized by a spit-take. The polished wood of the furniture and expansive bar reflect the grins of patrons enjoying beers and cocktails.

Lazer X FW is a haven of laser-guided fun and arcade amusement. A labyrinthine arena holds up to 40 laser taggers as battle rages over four tiers. Ultraviolet and strobe lights illuminate the billows of fog that obscure skeletons and aliens. Their newest game, Lazermaze, tests the agility of its participants through a room fraught with security beams and cowlick-fixing moms. The cavernous facility also contains an arcade stocked with Dance Dance Revolution and other joystick-based amusements.

Through curls of fog lit by ultraviolet light, players find vantage points to take aim at their opponents in Lazer X's bilevel, 6,500-square-foot arena. Wearing computerized vests, players blast each other with phasers while avoiding distractions caused by pulsing strobe lights, animatronic creatures, and up-tempo music that begs them to stop and do the macarena. After the game, vests tally up points, and players can review their scores on a printout that will also detail the hits they made and received. Alternately, patrons can follow-up games with a trip to the arcade where they can keep their trigger fingers in tip-top condition.

The signature workouts at Pilates for Bodies stretch "beyond the core" with dynamic group routines that blend strength training with aerobic conditioning. The instructors helm a lively regimen for full-body toning, segueing through fast-paced maneuvers such as snap crunches and pelvis pushups to engage the entire muscular system. Students practice atop sprung, joint-friendly floors as sunlight illuminates the brightly painted yellow and blue walls and destroys any vampires masquerading as regular people. With three levels of class difficulty, ranging from just a little difficult to challenging, they can test their physical limits from the safety of their respective comfort zones.