By Katie Vaughn | Photo by Hillary Schave
When you need a reprieve from the summer heat or a rainstorm’s brewing, there’s plenty of fun to find indoors around Madison, even with kids in tow.
Spend a few hours lost in stories at your local library branch or favorite bookstore, or give bowling a try. (Check out kidsbowlfree.com for participating sites offering complimentary games for kids during the summer.) Catch a summer blockbuster at a movie theater or see what’s playing at the Madison Metropolitan School District Planetarium, an immersive multimedia theater with a domed ceiling.
Younger children love a day exploring and playing at the Madison Children’s Museum. Meanwhile, a treat for school-aged kids is a visit to the UW Geology Museum, where they can spy meteorites, fossils and dinosaur and mastodon skeletons, and the L.R. Ingersoll Wonders of Physics Museum to tinker with educational displays and exhibits; find both museums on the UW–Madison campus.
Gamers have lots of options: Choose a video game and play to your heart’s content at PCs or console stations at Isthmian Gaming Lounge or The Guild. Or kick it old school with classic arcade games and pinball at Aftershock Classic Arcade, NerdHaven Arcade, Geeks Mania Arcade, The Kickback or I/O Arcade Bar (open for all ages on weekends only, 11 a.m.–2 p.m.).
And while weather keeps you off the courses, get your golf fix with an indoor simulator. Tee off at a state-of-the-art golf bay at X-Golf Madison, the Fairway Lounge in Fitchburg or The Bogey Factory in Verona.
Or head to Vitense Golfland to hit a bucket from a covered golf suite or play a round of mini golf on the Madison-themed indoor course.
