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The July Monthly Gathering scheduled for July 25th will be a videoconference event.

The locations of the MGs vary.

Monthly Gathering

Our Chicago Area Monthly Gatherings are open to the public. So anyone interested in finding out more about Mensa is welcome to attend. The July Monthly Gathering will be held via Zoom featuring breakout rooms; it will not be open to the public. The gatherings are held each month, except for No­vem­ber, at one of four lo­ca­tions. So check this site to ensure you’re heading to the correct venue. Members can also check the latest issue of ChiMe or Chicago Mensa Meetup.

Mensans, here are the setup instructions for Zoom and Board Game Arena . If you don’t have Zoom already, we recommend you download Zoom and sign up at least 30 minutes before the event; it’s free. The CAM Board has purchased some Board Game Arena premium accounts so we can play games with one another online while using audio chat . Or people can play via Zoom in one of the breakout rooms. The initial setup of Board Game Arena is an easy process that requires some lead time; try to sign up and add the CAM Game Hosts no later than the day before the MG. After completing the setup, try to find time to practice. Also, check out the CAM Zoom FAQ.

Typical Monthly Gathering

4:00 PM
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.
Cancelled for July!!
5:00 PM
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. Zoom meeting information to be provided after 5 PM on Thursday, July 23rd.
July Zoom Event!!
6:00 PM
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.
Cancelled for July!!
7:00 PM
Socializing — Join the Monthly Gathering event and experiment with interacting with other Mensans via Zoom. BYOB and snacks . There will be various breakout rooms on various topics throughout the evening (before and after the speaker presentation) so people can have conversations with a smaller group of people and people can move from one room to another room. Drop in any time to see how you like it. Zoom meeting information to be provided after 5 PM on Thursday, July 23rd.
July Zoom Event!!
7:30 PM
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. A short description of the topic may be available on the July events page. Members can view the full ar­ticle about this month’s topic in the July ChiMe. Our Zoom meeting information to be provided after 5 PM on Thursday, July 23rd.
July Zoom Event!!
8 PM
More Socializing plus Games — Our Steering Committee has paid for several premium accounts on Board Game Arena so Mensans can play games with one another online with audio chat instead of participating in the Zoom breakout rooms. See the setup instructions for Board Game Arena . The Steering Committee will be looking for feedback to find out how these platforms work out for everyone. Our Zoom meeting information to be provided after 5 PM on Thursday, July 23rd.
July Zoom & Online Games Event!!
8:30 PM until midnight
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.
Cancelled for July!!

The majority of the people start arriving around 7 PM. Usually, about 60-100 people attend the Monthly Gathering. If you prefer a smaller group, try 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 the 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
Members $7.00 $3.00
Guests $10.00 $5.00

There are no fees for Zoom Events.
* Children under the age of 8 are free provided they under the supervision of an adult attending the gathering.

Directions to

The September Monthly Gathering will be held on Benedictine University’s Campus in the 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 on the fourth floor in room 411 - aka Sorenson Hall of Leaders. Testing and the parent-child play will be in room 212. 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.

Benedictine University is lo­cated at the south­west corner of Chicago/Maple Ave. and College Rd. The campus is only accessible from College Rd. The interactive Campus Map shows the northern edge (Chicago/Maple Ave.) of campus at a diagonal along the bottom and College Road along the top. Click/tap on the world circle icon in the upper left of the map to change the orientation of the map so north is on top.

The closest parking to Goodwin Hall (Building 8 on the campus map) is the parking garage (Building 7) and the parking lot NW of the garage, both of which are accessible via the campus road which runs parallel to College Rd. So after turning west onto one of the campus entrances* on the west side of College Rd., 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 maps). 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.

If coming east or west via I-88 (north of the campus):

  • 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.
  • 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.

If coming east or west via I-55 (south of the campus):

  • 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.
  • 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.

From College Rd. (no entrance from Maple Ave.):

  • The campus is on the SW corner of Maple and College so turn west (right) onto the campus from Maple.
    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.
  • Walk to Goodwin Hall (Building 8 on the map).

Warning*: Although the map seems to show an entrance from College Rd. south of the main entrance (1 on the Campus Map) at the very southern edge of the campus that feeds into the road to the parking lot, some people have said it isn't always accessible.

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 Lisle station in time for the 11:38 PM train, which is the final train of the evening. Use of this service must be requested in advance by e‑mailing Greg  three days prior to the MG.
Note: CAM will cover the cost of the taxi, but you are responsible for your own train ticket.
Double check Metra Train schedule which has changed due to Coronavirus

The December 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. Use the map on the right for di­rections.

rmk

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.

  • Heading north on IL-53 north through the Northwest Suburbs, look for the Kirchoff Road exit.
  • Exit right (east) onto Kirchoff Road.
  • Continue east on Kirchoff Road for ~1 mile to Meadow Drive.
  • Turn south (right) onto Meadow Drive.
  • Continue south on Meadow Drive for two blocks to Martin Lane.
  • Turn west (right) onto Martin Lane.
  • Continue west on Martin Lane as it curves south into Pheasant Drive.
  • Continue south on Pheasant Drive to the Community Center which is on the west (right) side of Pheasant Drive.
  • Pull into the first (northern-most) driveway and head for the rear lot.
  • Park near Entrance K (shown above).
  • Exit at the Euclid Ave East exit.
  • Continue east on Euclid Avenue a short distance to Rohlwing Road.
  • Turn south (right) onto Rohlwing Road and continue south for a ½ mile to Kirchoff Road.
  • Turn east (left) onto Kirchoff Road and continue east for 0.7 miles to Meadow Drive.
  • Turn south (right) onto Meadow Drive and continue south for a ½ mile to Grouse Lane.
  • Turn west (right) onto Grouse Lane and continue for 0.2 miles to Pheasant Drive.
  • Turn north (right) onto Pheasant Drive and continue northwest for 295 ft. to the Community Center which is on the west side (left) of Pheasant Drive.
  • Pull into the first (northern-most) driveway and head for the rear lot.
  • Park near Entrance K (shown above).

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 Rolling Meadows site, we will have a taxi pick you up at the Arlington Park station at 6:30 PM (Union Pacific–Northwest line — it leaves Ogilvie Station at 5:40 PM). A taxi will then leave the Park District building by 10 PM to return you to the Arlington Park station for the 10:29 PM train, which is the final train of the evening. Use of this service must be requested in advance by e‑mailing Greg  three days prior to the MG.
Note: CAM will cover the cost of the taxi, but you are responsible for your own train ticket.
Double check Metra Train schedule which has changed due to Coronavirus

The July Monthly Gathering is being held via videoconference!

Mensans, here are the setup instructions for Zoom and for Board Game Arena . The Zoom id will be provided on the evening of Thursday, July 23rd via our website, via a Mensa Connect e-mail in your inbox, and on CAM Facebook. Don't share the id to avoid Zoom bombing by malicious individuals/groups, which will ruin the event. If you don't have Zoom already, we recommend you download Zoom and sign up (we recommend you do not use Facebook) at least 30 minutes before the event; it’s free. If you’re interested in playing online games using Board Game Arena , the initial setup is a simple process that just requires a bit of lead time; please sign up and add the CAM game hosts a day or two before the Monthly Gathering. After the setup, allow time to practice to familiarize yourself with Board Game Arena . For more information about how to participate in our virtual Monthly Gathering, tap/click here.

At 7 PM you can use Zoom to videoconference into the event and try socializing until 7:30 PM, when the speaker presentation will begin. There will be breakout rooms on various topics and people can switch from room to room whenever they like. After the speaker presentation, in addition to socializing in the breakout rooms, the games begin. The Steering Committee has purchased some premium accounts for Board Game Arena so people can play games online with the game event hosts (the ones you added in the setup) while using audio chat . People can also play games via Zoom in the breakout rooms if they like and the game lends itself to this platform. It’ll be an interesting experiment and aren’t you ready to try something fun and new? BYOB and snacks . Drop in any time to see how you like it and provide feedback.

There is no Monthly Gathering in October nor in November. Instead, CAM hosts HalloweeM, the largest Regional Gathering (RG) in the country. It's a wonderful, fun, and informative event that runs Thursday, October 29th through Sunday, November 1st. Expect games, dances, programs, costume parades, and excursions. Our great RG 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).

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.

Monthly Gathering Schedule

2020
July 25th
Video Teleconference Event

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August 29th
Video Teleconference Event

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September 26th
Bene­dictine Univer­sity
5700 College Road
Lisle, IL 60532
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October 29th–November 1st
HalloweeM
Westin North Shore Hotel
601 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Wheeling, IL 60090
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HalloweeM

November
No Gathering
 
December 5th
Rolling Mead­ows Com­mu­ni­ty Center
3705 Pheasant Drive
Rolling Meadows, IL 60008
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Mensa Testing

The test is administered at 4 PM at every Monthly Gathering. Get more information about taking a proctored test to join Mensa including different dates and lo­ca­tions. You must pre­reg­ister to take advantage of 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.

Cancelled for July!!


Thanks for being our 11,390th visitor to the Monthly Gathering page.

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