AMIAS and Member Activities

The Association of Members of the Institute for Advanced Study (AMIAS) organizes activities for scholars and their families. The events are listed below and are also included in the IAS calendar of events.

• A Night at Harry's: One Saturday evening each month during the academic year, an evening of jazz is held in Harry's Bar. This is an informal evening of socializing with colleagues and friends. Bar snacks are provided. IAS ID card required for all drink purchases. There is no entrance fee or reservation required. Dates to be announced.​​​​​​​
• English Conversation: Hosted by Helen Goddard, this group meets on Mondays from 10:00 - noon. For native and non-native English speakers, English Conversation reads poetry and news articles, discusses English words and talks about things to do and places to visit. Each Monday at 11:00 a.m., the group breaks for elevenses, which sometimes can turn into a cooking session. English Conversation begins on September 18. If you would like to be part of the group, please let us know by clicking HERE.
• Fireside Play Reading: This group, hosted by Annette Munt, meets in the Fuld Hall Common Room on selected Tuesdays evenings during term. There is no fee and no reservation required for this activity. Dates to be announced.
• Children's Chess Instruction: A local chess instructor offers chess classes to children. If your child is interested, please click HERE.
• Musician's Exchange: This group is organized by individuals in the IAS community. If you are a musician and would like to connect with other musicians in the IAS community, please click HERE. This group self organizes, choosing times to meet. Sometimes the group elects to give a community concert in the Dilworth Room. The AMIAS Member Services Office is available to help organize a Musician's Exchange event.
• Pottery Classes: Tuesdays starting October 10 in the Activities Room with potter Julia Hughes. Beginner instruction and materials are supplied. A $15 per person, per week payment will be collected by the instructor. Class is restricted to six people. To reserve your place in the class, please click HERE.
• Yoga: Yoga is held in the Dilworth Room on Tuesdays from 5-6:00 p.m. from September 9 to December 19. A yoga or exercise mat is recommended. There is no fee and no reservation required for this activity.  Please note that there is no class on October 3 or October 31.
• Other events planned by the scholar community will be posted as scheduled. If you would like to plan an IAS scholar community event, please complete the request form here.

All incoming scholars have been given access to Mobilize, an online community bulletin board. This is a closed community, not open to the general public. Members of the IAS community may post to the board by logging in or you may reply to messages through email. If you did not receive an email regarding Mobilize, please click HERE.

We encourage scholars and their families to plan social activities that share their culture or their interests. We realize, that if you want to host an activity, you may need some assistance. So please let us know your suggestion and what support you may need by clicking HERE.
Guidelines:

• Events should be open to all IAS scholars, and when appropriate, scholar families.
• IAS will reimburse up to $100 per event for expenses.
• The Activities Room may be used for events based on availability.
• To request to host an IAS scholar community event click HERE.
• All requests will be reviewed by Academic Affairs staff.
• Examples of past cultural or social events hosted by scholars:
  Biking
  Book club
  Children's activity and movie afternoon
  Children's play group
  Egg hunt--Easter holiday
  Game night
  Hanukkah children's activity
  Knitting class
  Painting instruction
  Tennis round robin games
  Walking group
  Volleyball games

Members/Visitors and their spouses/partners maybe reserve the Activities Room, located in the Activities Center, for hosting an IAS community event or for a private event. All reservations need to be made in advance. Within 48 hours of submitting your request, you will receive an email informing you if your request has been approved. Please submit a request HERE.

Activities Room Use Guidelines
1) All children's activities are to be supervised by adults. At no time should children age 14 and under be in the room without adult supervision.
2) Please leave the room in a neat and tidy order with all toys returned to the shelving and chairs folded and placed in the chair holder. (If you find the room untidy, please email llg@ias.edu.)
3) All trash is to be removed after using the room.
4) Room capacity is not to exceed 30 people.
5) The room will be thoroughly cleaned on Wednesday evenings from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.; no reservations can be made during these hours.
6) There is no kitchen facility in the Activities Room.
7) Please note: The pottery/kiln room, the room adjacent to the Activities Room, may not be reserved.

The piano room, located in the Activities Center, may be reserved by writing your name in the chosen timeslot on the calendar attached to the piano room door. Please remember that the humidifier must remain turned on to preserve the integrity of the piano.

The Institute has a soccer field located next to Olden Lane. Informal soccer games are organized a few times a week. If you are interested in playing soccer, email the SOCCER LISTSERV.

The IAS lighted tennis courts are located behind the Institute Goldman Lane playground. There are four lighted courts. You may enter the courts using your IAS ID card. Court use is first-come, first served. You may not reserve the tennis courts. If you plan to use the courts in the evening, please contact Public Safety to have the court lights turned on. If you would like to borrow a tennis racquet to use during your stay, please email AMIAS.

The Musician's Exchange organizes each fall with incoming scholars and their families. If you are a musician and would like to connect with other musicians in the IAS community, please click HERE. This group self organizes, choosing times to meet. Sometimes the group elects to give a community concert in the Dilworth Room. The AMIAS Member Services Office is available to help organize a Musician's Exchange event.

The IAS Fitness Center is provided for the beneficial use of the Faculty, Members, and Staff of the Institute. It is an unsupervised facility where various types of exercise equipment will be operated. It is neither a recreational facility for children nor an appropriate center for extensive body building such as that required to prepare for contact sports; instead it is a fitness center where adults can go to maintain or improve their health. Everyone is asked to employ appropriate precautions when using the equipment to avoid injury to oneself or to another. A waiver must be signed by anyone who wishes to use the center. To complete the waiver, please click HERE.

You may rent bicycles through the company Zagster. Bicycle racks are located near the Activities Building and in front of Bloomberg Hall. For complete information, click HERE.

The Princeton area offers a myriad of events and activities. Princeton Online's calendar of events highlights many interesting activities.

• Arts Council of Princeton  – Registration is required. Please check their website at the end of July for a listing of fall classes.
• Historical Society of Princeton – Advance registration is not required for most programs.
• Pacers Princeton Social Run – Fun run times are listed on the Pacers Princeton website.
• Princeton Adult School – Fall catalogue available during the last week of August. Please check website for online registration date. English as a Second Language course requires in-person registration.
• Princeton Country Dancers – Advance registration is not required.
• Princeton Folk Music Society - Advance registration is not required.
• Princeton Freewheelers (Bicycle Club) - Advance registration is not required.
• Princeton Lacrosse Club – Advance registration highly recommended.
• Princeton Public Library - Advance registration is not required. An IAS ID card is required to receive a library membership card.
• Princeton Ski and Sail Club - Advance registration required for some activities.
• Princeton Soccer Association – Contact them for tryout information.
• Princeton Tennis Program – Online registration begins on Tuesday, August 1 at 9:00 a.m.; classes fill quickly.
• Princeton Tigers Aquatics Club – Contact them for tryout information.
• Princeton University Community Auditing – New Auditor Activation is August 1 - August 31; Course Registration is September 6-8, 2017
• Princeton University Gym Membership – Offered only to IAS Member/Visitors at the reduced affiliates rate. Member/Visitor family members (18 years and older) are offered membership at the general public level. Princeton University gym membership does include use of the pool.
• Princeton YMCA - Membership is required and may be done online.
• Princeton YWCA - Membership is required and may be done online.
• Princeton Online - a valuable resource for community events, activities, businesses and organizations

If you have questions about the resources on this page, or would like additional information about the resources and activities available in the Princeton community, please contact Linda Cooper.

For a list of arts and theatre, houses of worship, pharmacies, restaurants, stores, and other information, click HERE.

The IAS shuttle runs six days a week and services many local shopping centers. Click HERE to see a list.

We welcome suggestions and feedback. To access the electronic suggestion box, please click HERE. A staff person from Member Services will respond.

Linda Cooper, AMIAS and Member Relations Officer, may be contacted at llg@ias.edu or 609-734-8259.
The Member Services office is located in D100. Please email Linda Cooper to set up a time to stop by to meet.