Heavy Metal Playground, Frederick

Like a playground for adults, Heavy Metal Playground lets grown-ups live out childhood dreams of running a big work machine. Expert employees give patrons a rundown on the machine's knobs and levers before cutting them loose on the playground. Once aboard the mini excavator—a machine used by real-deal construction crews—operators can dig holes, topple tires, and play heavy-duty games to their hearts' content.

Here are a few things riders can do aboard the heavy equipment:

• Smash a car: Use the machine's mighty claw to shred, pulverize, and rip apart an unsuspecting vehicle.

• Score a basket: Scoop up a basketball with the excavator's bucket and dunk it into a tire from afar with the excavator's long-reaching arm.

• Become king of the hill: Transport more dirt than the human back can withstand to build a towering mound in tribute to the machine's power.