About
Active Learning - USA Chess and Video Game Design Camps includes chess lessons, competitive chess play, and video game creation. Campers can create and program a unique video game and use custom curricula to learn Minecraft, Game Maker, Kodu, or Scratch as they build games they can play. The program also uses computer tutorials, worksheets, stories, historical games, and practice games against other students and instructors, with instruction, activities, and chances to try new skills with an opponent.
• Schedule: Typical school programs meet one day per week for one hour, with a half-hour lesson and a half-hour of practice and play; half-day campers have two one-hour classroom lessons with an hour break in between for practice and snacks, and all-day campers follow the same schedule with an hour break in between for practice and snacks.
Instructors are selected by USA Chess for their ability to make chess fun and teach the game to players of all levels, and the staff is described as the best hand-picked children's chess instructors in North America, chosen through a highly competitive process that includes in-person meetings, interviews, classroom observation, and thorough background checks. The mission of the programs is to help develop critical thinking skills and improve creativity, which is stated as important to the STEM fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. In 2017, the organization is offering seven unique programs at more than 100 locations across the United States.
Active Learning and USA Chess also run chess enrichment programs for schools that want to start an after-school or before-school chess club or other chess activity, and if a school does not have a chess program, they can work with the school to get one started, usually at no cost to the school because they bill the students or the PTA. The classroom size for the chess program averages 12–15 campers, and there are no expectations placed upon the campers, with a very relaxed atmosphere. Each day of camp includes chess instruction and competitive play, and instructors are flown to each camp from their home cities.
All necessary equipment is provided. All campers receive a chess set, notation book, T-shirt, and trophy, and chess campers also receive a chessboard and pieces and a folder full of work completed throughout the week. The final day of camp is Graduation Day, when parents can observe a chess lesson, and each camper is called forward to receive a trophy and a certificate of achievement.
Last updated February 5, 2026.
• Schedule: Typical school programs meet one day per week for one hour, with a half-hour lesson and a half-hour of practice and play; half-day campers have two one-hour classroom lessons with an hour break in between for practice and snacks, and all-day campers follow the same schedule with an hour break in between for practice and snacks.
Instructors are selected by USA Chess for their ability to make chess fun and teach the game to players of all levels, and the staff is described as the best hand-picked children's chess instructors in North America, chosen through a highly competitive process that includes in-person meetings, interviews, classroom observation, and thorough background checks. The mission of the programs is to help develop critical thinking skills and improve creativity, which is stated as important to the STEM fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. In 2017, the organization is offering seven unique programs at more than 100 locations across the United States.
Active Learning and USA Chess also run chess enrichment programs for schools that want to start an after-school or before-school chess club or other chess activity, and if a school does not have a chess program, they can work with the school to get one started, usually at no cost to the school because they bill the students or the PTA. The classroom size for the chess program averages 12–15 campers, and there are no expectations placed upon the campers, with a very relaxed atmosphere. Each day of camp includes chess instruction and competitive play, and instructors are flown to each camp from their home cities.
All necessary equipment is provided. All campers receive a chess set, notation book, T-shirt, and trophy, and chess campers also receive a chessboard and pieces and a folder full of work completed throughout the week. The final day of camp is Graduation Day, when parents can observe a chess lesson, and each camper is called forward to receive a trophy and a certificate of achievement.
Last updated February 5, 2026.
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