CHENANGO COUNTY — The City of Norwich Youth Bureau summer recreation programs begin next week, but there's still time to register.

Activities include a STEM program, beginner and intermediate guitar classes, swimming lessons, and a gaming program.

"The past few years we’ve been offering a lot of recreational sports. We don’t offer anything for kids that aren’t into sports, so there’s basically a whole group of kids out there. So we thought we’d offer several different programs," said City of Norwich Youth Bureau Director Anthony Testani.

Programs are open to residents of the City of Norwich and Towns of Norwich, North Norwich, Plymouth, Preston, and Pharsalia for free. Residents of other municipalities may be charged a fee to register.

Youth can sign up for programs all summer, even after they begin. However, Testani said it's preferred that youth register by Friday, July 4.

"They can sign up all summer. We won’t shut the registrations off," he said. "It would be nice if they could sign up by Friday so we have a list of attendees for our instructors."

Registration forms can be found on the City of Norwich Youth Bureau Facebook page and NorwichNewYork.net/government/youth.php.

The STEM program will be lead by Landon Stone, a SUNY Oneonta student studying to become a science teacher. Youth will learn about earth science, physics, biology, and chemistry.

"He’s got some really neat ideas," said Testani. "He’s going to be doing some earth science stuff. He’s going to do a class on propulsions that would talk about rockets and things like that. So he’s got a couple of things set up. He’ll do some propulsions in the water and then work his way up to the rockets. So it’ll be kind of cool."

The program is open to youth aged 8 to 13, and will be held Mondays through Thursdays, beginning on July 7, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the Bob Mason Recreation Center at Weiler Park in Norwich.

Local musician Nate Gross will be teaching beginner and intermediate guitar lessons this summer as well to local youth aged 10 to 18.

The beginner class is full, but Testani said youth with any background in guitar can sign up for the intermediate class. Intermediate classes will be held on August 11, 12, and 13 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. at Nate Gross' studio in the Chenango Arts Council building, located at 27 West Main Street in Norwich.

Swimming lessons will be offered to infants up to 21 year olds Monday through Friday at Kurt Beyer Pool, located at 91 Cortland Street in Norwich. Lessons will run from July 7 to July 25.

There are five 30-minute sessions each day teaching seven levels of American Red Cross certified swimming instruction. Lessons at 9 a.m., 9:35 a.m., and 10:10 a.m. will cover Level 1: Introduction to Water Skills, Level 2: Fundamentals of Aquatic Skills, and Level 3: Stroke Development.

Lessons at 10:45 a.m. will cover Level 1: Introduction to Water Skills, Level 2: Fundamentals of Aquatic Skills, Level 3: Stroke Development, and Level 4: Stroke Improvement.

Lessons at 11:20 a.m. will include Infant Swim, which requires parents to be in the water with their child, as well as Level 4: Stroke Improvement, and Level 5/6: Stroke Refinement and Swimming and Skill Proficiency.

Lastly, the Youth Bureau has partnered with Serenity Hobbies in downtown Norwich to offer a gaming program to local youth. Sessions will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. at 6 to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Gaming sessions will run from July 8 to August 15, and will be open lead by the owners of Serenity Hobbies, Eric and Courtney Cunningham.

"I hope the kids take advantage of these programs," Testani said. "It’s something new we’re doing so I think it’ll be a really neat opportunity for these kids to get in there and learn some new skills."

The Youth Bureau will also be offering their summer sports programs, including cheer, summer fun group, soccer, flag football, tennis, pickleball, basketball, baseball and softball, ultimate frisbee, and karate.

More information on Youth Bureau summer programs and registration forms can be found on the City of Norwich Youth Bureau Facebook page and NorwichNewYork.net/government/youth.php.