Summit Adventures, South Portland

Most people don't dabble in extreme sports, and for good reason. They're extreme—one false move in, say, rock climbing, and you could fall off a cliff or kiss a boulder you only like as a friend. Summit Adventures makes extreme sports more approachable, though, with simulators that keep all the fun, but lessen the risks. Here, rock-climbing involves full safety harnesses and a 30-foot indoor wall, archery means shooting targets with foam-tipped arrows, and stunt driving becomes safe and easy, thanks to well-designed bumper cars. Even walking on water has a place here: kids, enclosed in giant transparent hamster balls, can run on the surface of an indoor pool.