Chautauqua Institution Youth Programs
Chautauqua Tennis Center, 4840 W Lake Rd, Chautauqua, NY 14722
About
Chautauqua Institution Youth Programs include specific activities such as Beginner Optimist Sailing, 420 Sailing, Intermediate Sailing, Saturday morning races, junior golf camps and clinics, and a junior development tennis program with group tennis instruction. The Youth Activities Center (YAC) operates as a drop-in center for kids ages 12–17 with a snack bar, televisions, games, table tennis, and pool tables, and it offers daily lunch specials at “kid” prices. Youth Sailing offers a summer-long curriculum of sailing courses for youth ages 8 and up, and private sailing lessons, private tennis lessons, and junior tennis memberships are available.
• Ages: 3–17 years old
• Schedule: The Youth Activities Center (YAC) food service is open Noon to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and it 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.
YAC evening activities, called YACtivities, change weekly and are listed at the YAC or in the youth section of the Green Sheet, and the YAC shares evening activity information on Instagram (@yacchq) and Facebook. Copies of the Green Sheet are available at the Colonnade, Welcome Center, Visitors Center, Book Store, and Library. The Chautauqua Golf Club offers junior golf camps and clinics for ages 4–17, and the Chautauqua Tennis Center offers junior development programs for ages 4–18 for all skill levels and can lend racquets at no charge during junior programs. Racquets may be borrowed at no charge during the junior tennis programs. Youth Sailing offers a summer-long curriculum of sailing courses for youth ages 8 and up, and private sailing lessons may be arranged. The 25-yard indoor pool at the Turner Community Center is open year-round.
Chautauqua’s Special Studies program provides youth the ability to experience Chautauqua as their parents do in an age-appropriate learning environment, with curriculum subjects that include computer skills, art, dance, music, writing, and language. The CLSC Young Readers Program encourages the enjoyment of good reading. Every Wednesday of the season, Chautauqua County students, faculty, administration and staff get free admission.
The Chautauqua 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. Chautauqua Children’s School pioneered the concept of nursery school education, and the Boys’ and Girls’ Club is considered the oldest day camp in the United States. The Chautauqua Opera Company was founded in 1929, is North America’s 4th oldest opera company after the Metropolitan Opera, Cincinnati Opera and San Francisco Opera, and is North America’s oldest continuously operating summer opera company.
The mission of Chautauqua’s programs for youth states that they 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, and that youth are encouraged to grow in independence, make choices, take responsibility and celebrate family time in the Chautauqua community. The mission of the arts at Chautauqua is to expand the lives of the audience within and beyond the Institution’s gates through the power of the performing and visual arts, to inspire, educate and engage a diverse and growing audience, to serve as an integral part of the Chautauqua community, to exemplify artistic excellence in programs that celebrate both tradition and innovation, and to demonstrate sound financial stewardship.
Steven Osgood is the General and Artistic Director of the Chautauqua Opera Company, and Carol Rausch is the Music Administrator/Chorus Master. Historian and author David McCullough describes Chautauqua by saying, “There is no place like it. No resort. No spa. Not anywhere else in the country, or anywhere in the world.” Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns says, “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 February 6, 2026.
• Ages: 3–17 years old
• Schedule: The Youth Activities Center (YAC) food service is open Noon to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and it 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.
YAC evening activities, called YACtivities, change weekly and are listed at the YAC or in the youth section of the Green Sheet, and the YAC shares evening activity information on Instagram (@yacchq) and Facebook. Copies of the Green Sheet are available at the Colonnade, Welcome Center, Visitors Center, Book Store, and Library. The Chautauqua Golf Club offers junior golf camps and clinics for ages 4–17, and the Chautauqua Tennis Center offers junior development programs for ages 4–18 for all skill levels and can lend racquets at no charge during junior programs. Racquets may be borrowed at no charge during the junior tennis programs. Youth Sailing offers a summer-long curriculum of sailing courses for youth ages 8 and up, and private sailing lessons may be arranged. The 25-yard indoor pool at the Turner Community Center is open year-round.
Chautauqua’s Special Studies program provides youth the ability to experience Chautauqua as their parents do in an age-appropriate learning environment, with curriculum subjects that include computer skills, art, dance, music, writing, and language. The CLSC Young Readers Program encourages the enjoyment of good reading. Every Wednesday of the season, Chautauqua County students, faculty, administration and staff get free admission.
The Chautauqua 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. Chautauqua Children’s School pioneered the concept of nursery school education, and the Boys’ and Girls’ Club is considered the oldest day camp in the United States. The Chautauqua Opera Company was founded in 1929, is North America’s 4th oldest opera company after the Metropolitan Opera, Cincinnati Opera and San Francisco Opera, and is North America’s oldest continuously operating summer opera company.
The mission of Chautauqua’s programs for youth states that they 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, and that youth are encouraged to grow in independence, make choices, take responsibility and celebrate family time in the Chautauqua community. The mission of the arts at Chautauqua is to expand the lives of the audience within and beyond the Institution’s gates through the power of the performing and visual arts, to inspire, educate and engage a diverse and growing audience, to serve as an integral part of the Chautauqua community, to exemplify artistic excellence in programs that celebrate both tradition and innovation, and to demonstrate sound financial stewardship.
Steven Osgood is the General and Artistic Director of the Chautauqua Opera Company, and Carol Rausch is the Music Administrator/Chorus Master. Historian and author David McCullough describes Chautauqua by saying, “There is no place like it. No resort. No spa. Not anywhere else in the country, or anywhere in the world.” Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns says, “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 February 6, 2026.
Is this your business? There is no cost, but you will be asked to sign up or log in.