Diamond Dreams Sports Academy's day camps drum up the athletic abilities of children aged 7–12 and encourage them to develop skills and camaraderie. From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, aspiring all-stars run, pass, and swing their way through team sports, coached by top-level camp leaders whose encouragement extends beyond the screech of a pet goose’s neck whistle. Young athletes take to the diamond for baseball and softball, while feet meet rubber during kickball and pigskin passers summon sweat and confidence during football. Camp-goers learn the importance of teamwork and sportsmanship, gaining a healthy and positive attitude toward teammates, opponents, and directors of their impending shoe endorsements. Ping-pong games and arts and crafts round out the curriculum of activities, and DD Sports Olympics provide a celebratory culmination of the lessons and skills amassed during the eventful week.
The race's runners squirm and snort at the starting line. Ham Bone, Miss Piggy, and Pork Chop may just be piglets, but in the course of one fall season at Dan-D Farms, they'll transform into world-class swine sprinters. Approximately every two hours, they'll storm down a 100-yard improvised raceway, complete with a water obstacle. That's right––a water obstacle. "Our pigs," farm owner Debra Kearney confirms, "can swim."
These riotous races are just one part of the lineup of events that overtakes Dan-D Farms each fall. Guests flock to this family-friendly affair to scramble over hay bales, feed wooly sheep, or test their sense of direction in one of two hay mazes. Each year for their maze, Debra and her family––including dad, Dan––devise a new design, but try to stick to things that are Iowa related. Past mazes have included the image of iconic Iowans such as native son John Wayne, and the ISU Cyclones and Iowa Hawkeyes mascots, as well as a reproduction of the American Gothic painting by Anamosa, Iowa–native Grant Wood. Each June, they begin marking the design into the 20-acre field, painting and flagging rows like boxes on grid paper, and then cut out the tunnels before the corn grows knee-high or develops the ability to cry. While this intricate, artistic design requires huge amounts of time and labor, less energy is spent carving out the separate haunted corn maze, where the fear-factor relies on simple twists and turns, instead of fancy effects or animatronics. "It's really not too hard," Debra says, "to scare people in a dark, dusty corn field."
The Science Station illuminates the minds of children and adults on the workings of science, math, and technology with hands-on exhibits, puzzles, and games. Aspiring athletes can explore the science behind modern sports in Sportsology, a limited-time exhibit with hands-on challenges and special weekend events. Learn how the human body reacts to physical competition with a series of interactive trials, including “Action Reaction,” a soccer goalie trial that tests reaction times through blinking lights, and "Fast Ball,” in which aspiring sphere-lobbers can clock the speeds of their throws. The family pack admits everyone in a single immediate family to walk the museum's knowledge-packed paths. The Science Station is open Tuesday–Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.
Aspen Athletic Club amasses top-of-the-line equipment, seasoned trainers, and luxurious amenities within five gym spaces across Des Moines. A fleet of cardio and strength-training machinery from brands such as LifeFitness and Star Trac heavily populate the floors, allowing guests ample access to the equipment. In addition to a cardio theater, the Hickman gym boasts 12 onsite tennis courts and specialized studios for martial arts and women-only workouts. Visitors to the 14th Street location can sign up for aquatic classes or swim laps solo across the pool. Other amenities such as tanning, massage therapy, and gold-plated kettlebells vary from club to club.
Certified personal trainers plan out custom routines for clients, and highly qualified instructors lead Zumba steps, spinning seminars, and, at certain locations, fast-paced Les Mills classes. The professional staff also offer nutritional counseling at all locales.
Pleasantville Golf & Country Club's nine-hole course blankets the Marion County countryside with a circuit of tree-lined fairways. Originally opened in 1965, the course boasts the trademarks of a mature layout, with well-defined greens, tall timbers, and fairways that are starting to show flecks of gray. The semiprivate club also encompasses an outdoor swimming pool and Bogey's, a grill with a full-service bar and a menu of sandwiches, burgers, and other casual eats.:
For many, maintaining a healthy fitness regimen is an off-putting chore on par with cleaning the garage or assembling that backyard roller coaster for the kids. The folks behind Snap Fitness, who now boast locations all over the world, are of the opinion that this doesn't have to be the case. They believe 24-hour access to premium cardio and strength-training equipment, innovative easyFIT monitors to track personal progress, and perpetual guidance from certified professionals can help transform physical fitness into an accessible activity that yields measurable and tangible results. In addition to providing online workout rubrics and meal plans, they work to keep sweat glands up and running by offering work out rewards programs, making regular check-in calls, and measuring bodies—sans padded muscle suits—every 30 days.
Premiere Bowling thrills pin smashers and beam blasters of all ages with a variety of family-friendly games and activities. Each bowling lane is equipped with its own seating area and 32-inch LCD TV for computerized tallying, and optional automatic bumpers keep pint-size alley sharks from gutter-ball unglory ($1–$3.50 per game; shoe rental $2–$3.50 per player). During Friday and Saturday evenings the lights are dimmed to make way for lazer bowl ($5 per game), featuring black lights, fog, and futuristic lasers, as the latest popular tunes and Benedictine hymns are pumped through the alley's sound system. Next door to the house of pin punishment, Extreme Lazer Tag houses more than 2,200 square feet of playing area shrouded in foggy darkness, perfect for living out video-game-hero dreams, working out tensions with your roommate, or living out your fantasy of starting a ragtag militia of space marines with Mark from accounting ($6 per person for a 7.5-minute bout).