Chautauqua Institution Youth & Family Programs
Chautauqua Tennis Center, 4840 W Lake Rd, Chautauqua, NY 14722
About
Chautauqua Institution Youth & Family Programs include activities such as Gentle Yoga, gluten-free baking, Beginner Optimist Sailing, 420 Sailing, Intermediate Sailing, swimming, junior golf camps and clinics, and group tennis instruction. The program also offers Saturday morning races, wine tasting, and access to the Youth Activities Center (YAC) with its snack bar and games.
• Ages: 2–17 years old
• Schedule: The Youth Activities Center food service is open Noon to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and the YAC is open evenings Monday through Thursday starting at 5 p.m. for YACtivities.
• Price: The Youth Activities Center snack bar has daily lunch specials at “kid” prices.
Chautauqua’s programs for youth include pre-school options, day camp, sports instruction, informal youth centers, enrichment classes, entertainment, reading, and experiences in the arts, all within a stated mission that emphasizes a diversity of activity in varied and historic settings. 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. The Chautauqua Sailing Department presents a summer-long curriculum of sailing courses for youth ages 8 and up, the Chautauqua Golf Club offers junior golf camps and clinics for ages 4–17, and the Chautauqua Tennis Center runs a junior development program with group instruction for ages 4–18 and all skill levels, where racquets may be borrowed at no charge during junior tennis programs. The Youth Activities Center is a drop-in center for kids ages 12–17 with a bustling snack bar, friendly staff, televisions, games, table tennis and pool tables.
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. The 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 and 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 Chautauqua Opera Company offers more than 30 operatic events each season, including three mainstage productions, concerts with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, weekly artsong recitals, opera performances for young audiences, Young Artist open-mic nights, and Opera Invasions.
Steven Osgood is the General and Artistic Director of the Chautauqua Opera Company, and Carol Rausch is the Music Administrator/Chorus Master. Every Wednesday of the season, Chautauqua County students, faculty, administration and staff get free admission. 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.” 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 food service is open Noon to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and the YAC is open evenings Monday through Thursday starting at 5 p.m. for YACtivities.
• Price: The Youth Activities Center snack bar has daily lunch specials at “kid” prices.
Chautauqua’s programs for youth include pre-school options, day camp, sports instruction, informal youth centers, enrichment classes, entertainment, reading, and experiences in the arts, all within a stated mission that emphasizes a diversity of activity in varied and historic settings. 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. The Chautauqua Sailing Department presents a summer-long curriculum of sailing courses for youth ages 8 and up, the Chautauqua Golf Club offers junior golf camps and clinics for ages 4–17, and the Chautauqua Tennis Center runs a junior development program with group instruction for ages 4–18 and all skill levels, where racquets may be borrowed at no charge during junior tennis programs. The Youth Activities Center is a drop-in center for kids ages 12–17 with a bustling snack bar, friendly staff, televisions, games, table tennis and pool tables.
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. The 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 and 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 Chautauqua Opera Company offers more than 30 operatic events each season, including three mainstage productions, concerts with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, weekly artsong recitals, opera performances for young audiences, Young Artist open-mic nights, and Opera Invasions.
Steven Osgood is the General and Artistic Director of the Chautauqua Opera Company, and Carol Rausch is the Music Administrator/Chorus Master. Every Wednesday of the season, Chautauqua County students, faculty, administration and staff get free admission. 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.” 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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