Our next Monthly Gathering is on January 26th.
AGOG and the JanuaryMonthly Gathering will be held
at the
Westin North Shore Hotel,
601 N. Milwaukee Ave., Wheeling, IL 60090
The location
of each MG is different.
* * * * * *
If you wish to spend the night, rooms are available at a special rate.
Just request the "Mensa rate of $89" when you call.
The Chicago Area Monthly Gathering is open to the public.
So anyone interested in finding out more about Mensa is welcome to attend.
A Gathering of Gamers (AGOG) and the January Monthly Gathering will be held at the Westin North Shore Hotel at 601 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Wheeling.
The location may change for future gathering so please continue to check this site. Members can also check the latest issue of
ChiMe,
Chicago Mensa Meetup,
and/or can sign up for the
Event e‑mail list
to get e‑mails about upcoming events, including any last minute changes. (Note: You should be getting the e‑mails about
upcoming events already, provided your profile on American Mensa includes your e‑mail address. If you want to opt out,
you can do so via the same link: Event E‑Mail List.)
NEW YEAR, NEW YOU! REDUCED PRICE TESTING IN JANUARY
For our January tests the fee will be only $39.99, a 33%
discount. Don't delay!
Typical Monthly Gathering
4:00 p.m.
Mensa Admissions Test
(for anyone who wishes to become a member) —
Preregister
to reserve a space for this session or for a different test location/date. To
see if any of your past tests qualify for membership, see
what you need to qualify.
5:00 p.m.
Business Meeting —
Our five board members and any other interested members discuss various topics and issues.
Members are welcome to attend and voice their opinions, but only the Board of Directors can vote.
6:00 p.m.
Games Room opens
for any early-arrivers and game enthusiasts.
At recent gatherings members have played their favorite games such as
Chess, Scrabble, Set, and Boggle, as well as current hit games.
Our game collection is pretty extensive,
so if you have a favorite, there's a fair chance we'll have it on
hand. Here’s the
list of our entire collection (minus a couple of oldies for which the Geek has no entry) over on
Board Game Geek, although not all games are conveyed to every
Monthly Gathering (there are just too many).
Contact our Game Warden to ensure a specific one is available.
7:30 p.m.
Speaker Presentation —
The gathering usually begins with announcements
from our Local Secretary (LocSec), followed by a guest who speaks on an
interesting topic for about an hour.
8:30 p.m.
Refreshments, Socializing, and Games —
After the speaker presentation,
our hospitality volunteers provide an assortment of party food and
beverages, and people browse and mingle. Conversation and games
continue into the night.
The majority of the people start arriving around 7:00 PM.
Usually about 60-100 people attend the Monthly Gathering. If you
prefer a smaller group, try a
one of our many restaurant gatherings hosted at various
locations throughout the metropolitan area. Check out the latest monthly calendar
of events for dates, or,
for more information, call the
Membership Chair.
Babysitting
is no longer available unless we get
some volunteers willing to do so or to arrange it. If interested, contact our LocSec.
In the meantime, we encourage parents
and kids to hang out together in a separate room where
their children can play together under their parents’ supervision.
Also please contact our Gifted Youth Coördinators, who may be restarting the Gifted Youth MG activity held
in conjunction with the regular MG.
Admission Fees
Ages
18-∞
8-17
0-7
Members
$7.00
$3.00
Free*
Guests
$10.00
$5.00
Free*
*For children under the supervision of an adult at the gathering.
Directions to
The
March Monthly Gathering will be held at the
Benedictine University’s Campus - Daniel L. Goodwin Hall of Business
(Building 8 on the Campus Map) - located
at 5700 College Rd. in Lisle. The building is near the
southern end of the campus.
Note that the campus is only accessible from College Rd. which runs along the eastern edge
of the campus.
The business meeting, games, and hospitality will be in room 411.
Testing and the parent-child play will be in room 317. The speaker will be
in room 321. Note: The rooms tend to be a bit chilly, so you may
want to consider bringing a sweater/sweatshirt.
Please note that we have this venue only until midnight — plan accordingly.
Parking: The closest parking to Goodwin Hall is the parking garage (Building 7 on the Campus Map) and the parking lot NW of the garage, both of which are accessible via the campus road
which runs parallel to College. So after turning west onto one of the campus
entrances* on the west
side of College, turn south (left) and follow that road as it curves west along the southern
edge of the campus and eventually curves to
slightly north (see map).
There are also
three large parking lots along College Rd. (the southernmost parking lot
is the closest of the three to Goodwin Hall). Parking is free.
Warning*: Although the map seems to show an entrance from
College south of the main entrance (1 on the Campus Map) at the very southern edge of the
campus that feeds into that road, some people have said it isn't always accessible.
To Get There: Benedictine University is located at the southwest corner of Maple Ave. and College Rd. The
campus is only accessible from College Rd. The Monthly Gathering is held in Goodwin
Hall; it is Building 8 on the map.
If coming from the north from I-88:
Exit onto onto Interstate 355 Tollway S toward Joliet.
Continue on I-355 S for ~3.3 miles to the Maple Ave. exit.
Turn west (right) onto Maple Ave.
If coming from the south on I-55:
Take the Interstate 355 Tollway N/Interstate 355 Tollway S toward
Northwest Suburbs/Southwest Suburbs exit.
Stay right to merge onto I-355 N.
Head north on I-355 N to the Maple Ave. exit.
Turn west (left) onto Maple Ave.
After exiting I-355 onto Maple Ave.:
Head west on Maple Ave. for ~2.4 miles to College Rd.
(Note: At the stop light, it's College to the south and Yackley to the north).
Turn south (left) onto College Rd.
The campus is on the SW corner of Maple and College so
turn west (right) onto the campus.
Warning: There is no entrance onto the campus south of the main entrance
(1 on the Campus Map) even though it looks like there is one on the map.
Turn south (left) onto the campus road that runs parallel to College
and continue along as it
curves to the west along the southernmost edge of the campus and
then slightly north.
Enter either the parking garage
(Building 7 on the Campus Map) or the nearby narrow parking lot just past the garage,
both of which are on the right and are closest to Goodwin Hall
(the first building north of the parking
garage and east of the parking lot). Otherwise you may park in the
NW region of the southernmost parking lot near College Ave.
and it is still a short walk NW to Goodwin Hall.
Attention, city-dwelling Chicago Area Ms! Until further notice, there will be a taxi service for our suburban Monthly Gatherings,
between the closest Metra station and the meeting site. For the Benedictine University site, we will have a taxi pick you up
at the
Lisle station at 6:31 PM
(Burlington Northern (BNSF) Railway line — it leaves
Union Station at 5:40 PM).
A taxi will then leave the Goodwin Hall by 11 PM to return you to the train by 11:38 PM, for the
final train of the evening. Use of this service must be requested in advance by e‑mailing
Megan three days prior to the MG.
Note: CAM will cover the cost of the taxi, but you are responsible for your own train ticket.
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The
May Monthly Gathering will be held at the
North Park University’s Magnuson Campus Center
(Building 16 - just behind (west) the building (Burgh Hall) on Spaulding) located
at 5000 N. Spaulding Avenue in Chicago
(south of Foster, between Kimball and Kedzie).
The building is located on the southeast side of the Chicago River, North Branch,
which flows through the campus, thus there is no car access from any of the side streets
near the campus that are north or west of the river.
Parking: Free parking in the student lots. Campus security will not ticket any of
us who are parked in student parking (SE corner of
Carmen and Spaulding (closest lot), north of Carmen and west of Kedzie (next closest lot)
and the east side of Kedzie between Foster and Carmen where the southernmost lot is just
a two block walk to the Magnuson Campus Center). There
is also street parking in the neighborhood so check for spots along Carmen, Spaulding and Argyle but read the signs;
there is permit-only parking in the area as well as metered parking where you pay at the box using cash or
credit/debit cards or via the
ParkChicago app which enables you to pay and add time remotely with your smart phone.
Chicago parking tickets are expensive so make sure you park legally.
Public Transit: The CTA Brown
Kimball station is less than a ½ mile southwest from Magnuson Campus Center at Lawrence and Kimball. There are several
bus lines that service the area. The
CTA Bus Tracker makes it easy to find out when the buses arrive and depart on your smart phone.
General directions to the campus can be found on the NPU website. The Magnuson Campus Center is located on the southeast bank of the river and is not actually
on Spaudling; it is Building 16 on the map, just behind (southwest) the building (Burgh Hall) located on Spaulding.
The river prevents automobile access from any of the side streets that run through the campus
north of or west of the river (see the campus map); but if you park on any of those streets, there are foot
paths that cross the river enabling you to walk to the Magnuson Campus Center.
If coming from the northwest on I-90E:
Take the Lawrence Ave. exit.
Head north on Cicero Ave. to Foster.
Head east on Foster for 2 miles to Kedzie Ave.
Head south (right from Foster) on Kedzie Ave.
Continue to Carmen Ave. (four-way stop—the first
street on your right) and turn west (right)
for the closest parking (see below).
Or park in the southernmost student parking on the east (left)
side of Kedzie between Foster and Carmen).
These lots are the farthest from the Magnuson Campus Center.
Walk south along Kedzie, cross Kedzie at Carmen, walk west
along Carmen to path along the east bank of the Chicago river and turn
south (left) on path. Stay right as the path
goes between the buildings. Magnuson Campus Center is on your right next
to the river.
If coming from the north on I-94E:
Take the Cicero Ave. exit to Foster.
Head east on Foster for 2 miles to Kedzie Ave.
Head south (right from Foster) on Kedzie Ave.
Continue to Carmen Ave. (four-way stop—the first
street on your right) and turn west (right)
for the closest parking (see below).
Or park in the southernmost student parking on the east (left)
side of Kedzie between Foster and Carmen).
These lots are the farthest from the Magnuson Campus Center.
Walk south along Kedzie, cross Kedzie at Carmen, walk west
along Carmen to path along the east bank of the Chicago river and turn
south (left) on path. Stay right as the path
goes between the buildings. Magnuson Campus Center is on your right next
to the river.
If coming from the south on I-90W/I-94W:
Take the Kedzie Ave. exit.
Head north ~2½ miles to Carmen (stop sign).
Turn west (left) onto Carmen Ave. (four-way stop) for the
closest parking (see below).
Or go straight and park in the first of the student lots on the
east side of Kedzie Ave. between Carmen and Foster.
Walk south to Carmen, cross Kedzie, walk west
along Carmen to path along the east bank of the Chicago river and turn
south (left) on path. Stay right as the path
goes between the buildings. The Magnuson Campus Center
is on your right next to the river.
For the closest parking:
Continue west on Carmen Ave.
On your right (north) will be an entrance to
the 2nd closest student lot.
Or continue west on Spaulding and enter the student lot on the southeast corner
of Spaulding and Carmen (on your left).
Or park along Carmen Ave. or follow the curve south which takes you to Spaulding
and park along Spaulding.
Walk west to the path that runs along the east bank of the Chicago River and
follow the path as it goes between the buildings.
The Magnuson Campus Center is the building closest
to the river (west of Burgh Hall and north of Anderson Hall (round building)).
The
February Monthly Gathering will be held at the Rolling Meadows Community Center
at 3705 Pheasant Drive in Rolling Meadows.
The Community Center is located just east of IL-53, just north of the Algonquin exit and south of the Euclid exit.
Find
directions on the Rolling Meadows Park District’s website or use the map on the right.
We will have games and hospitality in their spacious auditorium with overflow space in the lobby.
The speaker event will be in the Card Room. There will be a Parents-Kids Play Room available.
Please note that we have this venue only until midnight — plan accordingly.
Parking is plentiful and free.
AGOG and the January Monthly Gathering
will be held at the Westin-Chicago North Shore Hotel at
601 North Milwaukee Avenue in Wheeling.
The hotel is located on the east side of Milwaukee and the main entrance is at the intersection
of Milwaukee Avenue and Wolf Road (just south of Lake-Cook and
north of Dundee Road).
Book your room today!
The hotel is offering a AGOG room rate of $89 through Friday, January 4th.
The rooms facing east enjoy a great view of the Forest Preserves.
The hotel is located just west of the Des Plaines River and is steps away from the
Des Plaines River Trail leading into the Potawatomi Woods Forest Preserve.
There’s plenty of free parking both on the north and the south side
of the hotel. The south lot is closer to the meeting rooms.
The hotel offers a shuttle service from the nearby METRA stations.
Please call them well in advance to arrange a pickup.
The test is administered at 4 PM at every Monthly Gathering. See more information about taking a
proctored test to join Mensa
including different dates and locations, and any special offers from American Mensa.
Or check out if any of the tests you’ve taken in the past can be used as prior evidence to
join.
Mensa members, forward your voucher code that AML e‑mailed you
to a non-member. S/he may use the voucher either to submit prior evidence before the end of March, 2019,
or to preregister for the
supervised test held at a Monthly Gathering or at other locations also by the end of March, 2019
.
Thanks for being our 8,742nd visitor to
the Monthly Gathering page.
These pages and all content Copyright 2018
by Chicago Area Mensa, all rights reserved. Chicago Area Mensa is part of American Mensa, Ltd.
Mensa® and the Mensa logo (as depicted for example in U.S. TM Reg. No. 1,405,381)
are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by American Mensa, Ltd.,
and are registered in other countries by Mensa International Limited
and/or affiliated national Mensa organizations.
Mensa does not hold any opinions, or have, or express, any political or religious views.
These pages and all content Copyright 2018
by Chicago Area Mensa, all rights reserved. Chicago Area Mensa is part of American Mensa, Ltd.
Mensa® and the Mensa logo (as depicted for example in U.S. TM Reg. No. 1,405,381)
are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by American Mensa, Ltd.,
and are registered in other countries by Mensa International Limited
and/or affiliated national Mensa organizations.
Mensa does not hold any opinions, or have, or express, any political or religious views.
