Chicago Area Mensa

Are you thinking of joining Mensa?
If you have qualifying prior evidence, you can save $10 during January & February. Just include the promotion code "WPE‑463" on your application. Why join? Watch this amusing YouTube video featuring Mensan Nolan Gould from Modern Family who talks about why he joined.

Until further notice, the Monthly Meeting will be held at the
Courtyard by Marriott,
1311 American Lane, Schaumburg, IL 60173.

Welcome to Chicago Area Mensa

Note: Mensa was featured on CBS Sunday Morning (including notable Chicago Area Mensans!) a few years ago. See the show on CBS's YouTube channel: part 1 and part 2

Mensans come from all walks of life. They range from three to one hundred years old. They represent both sexes, all races, various professions, and many beliefs. In fact, there's only one thing all Mensans have in common: high intelligence. To qualify for Mensa, you must have scored in the top 2% of the general population on a standardized intelligence test. There are many tests we accept. Once you've decided to join us, a world of social and intellectual opportunities is open to you.

Chicago Area Mensa has something for everyone. There are many activities are scheduled each week. The range of activities is wide. In a recent month, there were six games nights, a Sunday brunch, a potluck, seven dinners, five lunches, a competition at a trivia contest, a movie night, and discussions about poetry, Christianity, movies, and science fiction. All this in addition to our regularly scheduled Monthly Meetings, which boast a spectacular variety of speakers. In the past year alone we've enjoyed presentations on Mithraism and cosmology, Mongolia, Rembrandt, the intelligence of squirrels, patent law, Islam, an "animal intuitive," writing horror stories, correlation of diet and brain size, and magic.

If our local events don't keep you busy enough, there are many other opportunities to meet other Mensans from all over the globe. Each October, Chicago Area Mensa hosts HalloweeM, one of the grandest of all the Regional Gatherings. In the summer, Mensans from around the country get together at the Annual Gathering, which is a feast of presentations and activities for our omnivorous minds. There are also Mensa colloquia: the two coming up in 2012 are "Bioterrorism Strikes Home" and "Social and Video Games," the most recent was held in February, 2011, on Electronic Gaming and Its Impact on Society, and the previous one in 2009 on Weather.

In an MTV world, it's good to find some PBS minds. Come, see what we can do for you.