Chautauqua Youth & Family Programs
Chautauqua Institution, 1 Ames Ave, Chautauqua, NY 14722
About
Chautauqua Youth & Family Programs includes activities such as Gentle Yoga, gluten-free baking, Beginner Optimist Sailing, 420 Sailing, Intermediate Sailing, Saturday morning races, junior golf camps and clinics, and junior tennis group instruction. The program also offers Wine Tasting, junior tennis group instruction for a range of skill levels, and access to a drop-in Youth Activities Center (YAC) with a snack bar, televisions, games, table tennis, and pool tables.
• Ages: 2–17 years old
• Schedule: The Youth Activities Center (YAC) offers food service from Noon to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and is open evenings Monday through Thursday starting at 5 p.m. for YACtivities.
• Price: The Youth Activities Center (YAC) snack bar has daily lunch specials at “kid” prices.
Children’s School was built in 1921, with additions in 1926, 1947 and 1969, followed by a full renovation and expansion in 1994, and Group One began in 1997. Children’s School pioneered the concept of nursery school education, and Boys’ and Girls’ Club is considered the oldest day camp in the United States. The Chautauqua Golf Club offers junior golf camps and clinics for ages 4–17, and the Chautauqua Tennis Center offers a junior development program with group instruction for ages 4–18, with racquets available to borrow at no charge during junior tennis programs, along with options for private lessons and junior memberships. The Special Studies curriculum includes subjects such as computer skills, art, dance, music, writing, language and other interactive courses, and the CLSC Young Readers Program focuses on the enjoyment of good reading. Private sailing lessons may be arranged, and all Sailing Department programs are conducted from the John R. Turney Sailing Center, which uses a 25-yard indoor pool at the Turner Community Center and tennis courts at the Chautauqua Tennis Center.
Chautauqua’s programs for youth present a diversity of activity in varied and historic settings, including pre-school, day camp, sports instruction, informal youth centers, enrichment classes, entertainment, reading, and experiences in the arts, with an emphasis on independence, choice, responsibility and family time within the Chautauqua community. Education Wednesdays provide free admission every Wednesday of the season for Chautauqua County students, faculty, administration and staff. Historian and author David McCullough has said, “There is no place like it. No resort. No spa. Not anywhere else in the country, or anywhere in the world,” and documentary filmmaker Ken Burns has said, “Things are different here. You feel it the moment you pass through the gates. Here, we have a glimmer, an active, muscular, American utopia, here in this place, inquisitive, ecumenical, feeding mind and body and spirit.”
Last updated May 28, 2026.
• Ages: 2–17 years old
• Schedule: The Youth Activities Center (YAC) offers food service from Noon to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and is open evenings Monday through Thursday starting at 5 p.m. for YACtivities.
• Price: The Youth Activities Center (YAC) snack bar has daily lunch specials at “kid” prices.
Children’s School was built in 1921, with additions in 1926, 1947 and 1969, followed by a full renovation and expansion in 1994, and Group One began in 1997. Children’s School pioneered the concept of nursery school education, and Boys’ and Girls’ Club is considered the oldest day camp in the United States. The Chautauqua Golf Club offers junior golf camps and clinics for ages 4–17, and the Chautauqua Tennis Center offers a junior development program with group instruction for ages 4–18, with racquets available to borrow at no charge during junior tennis programs, along with options for private lessons and junior memberships. The Special Studies curriculum includes subjects such as computer skills, art, dance, music, writing, language and other interactive courses, and the CLSC Young Readers Program focuses on the enjoyment of good reading. Private sailing lessons may be arranged, and all Sailing Department programs are conducted from the John R. Turney Sailing Center, which uses a 25-yard indoor pool at the Turner Community Center and tennis courts at the Chautauqua Tennis Center.
Chautauqua’s programs for youth present a diversity of activity in varied and historic settings, including pre-school, day camp, sports instruction, informal youth centers, enrichment classes, entertainment, reading, and experiences in the arts, with an emphasis on independence, choice, responsibility and family time within the Chautauqua community. Education Wednesdays provide free admission every Wednesday of the season for Chautauqua County students, faculty, administration and staff. Historian and author David McCullough has said, “There is no place like it. No resort. No spa. Not anywhere else in the country, or anywhere in the world,” and documentary filmmaker Ken Burns has said, “Things are different here. You feel it the moment you pass through the gates. Here, we have a glimmer, an active, muscular, American utopia, here in this place, inquisitive, ecumenical, feeding mind and body and spirit.”
Last updated May 28, 2026.
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