5 activities for adults and kids to beat the cold weather in Cobb

Kadri Ozee leads Holly Pourhassan down the straight away at Andretti Karting & Games in Marietta.

Credit: Curtis Compton

Credit: Curtis Compton

Kadri Ozee leads Holly Pourhassan down the straight away at Andretti Karting & Games in Marietta.

Yes, it’s hard to find the energy to leave your home when it’s cold out. But neither adults nor children can stay inside all winter, especially because there’s so much to do in Cobb County.

Below are some antidotes to becoming stir crazy.

Get fixing for an adrenaline fix 

Forget a sweater, stay warm with some adrenaline. And there’s plenty of places in Cobb to get some.

Go really fast really close to the ground with some go-kart action at Andretti Karting & Games on Roswell Road.

Or trick your body into thinking it's skydiving at iFLY on Cobb Parkway. Don't believe it? Read one AJC reporter's experience.

Allllll abooooooard!

Who doesn’t like trains?

Inside the Southern Museum in downtown Kennesaw is the Jolley Education Center, which is 8,000 square feet of education programs and interactive exhibits. Children can tap out Morse Code, use a diesel train simulator and  walk through a small-scale replica village of a 19th century downtown with storefronts where folks can try on old-fashioned clothes.

And, yes, there are those wood-and-magnet train sets.

Be classy, not chilly

Be more fancy than freezing this winter.

You can start at any of Cobb's 16 libraries, which regularly hold events that will teach you how to do everything from program computers to play bridge.

It may be dreary outside, but by the time it gets pretty out you could be good at painting so you can be one of those people who paints nature scenes on an easel at a park.

Studios like Art a la Carte on Sandy Plains Road will teach you and your child how to paint, and they also hold open studio sessions so y'all can practice. Cobb also has The PEA Studio on Canton Road, which sells packages like a pizza painting party for four people.

Pretend you’ve never played Pac-Man and then crush a child in it

If the stress of ghosts chasing you doesn’t warm your body, those screens do get hot after a while.

You can check out the arcade games at Main Event Entertainment on Cobb Parkway, which also has laser tag.

Sparkles on McCollum Parkway also offers laser tag (two stories worth of laser tag) and arcade games.

You could also surprise a young person at Sparkles with your old-school skating skills. If they or you don't know how, you can buy lessons.

"It's a trap!"

Become mentally exhausted and possibly frustrated with strangers or people you love in an escape room, which is a decidedly indoors activity.

The Escapery on Old 41 Highway has three different "adventures" and another one on the way, according to its website. Check out the parental consent waiver online.

There's also Project: Escape, located on South Marietta Parkway, has five escape rooms in addition to virtual reality escape rooms.

Children under age 7 are not allowed, and if you bring kids between 7 and 10, your party must have rented out the whole room.

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