The organizers of the events listed on this calendar have expressed willingness for members elsewhere in the world to join in. Please don’t give them a bigger crowd than they can handle, and do be careful about time zones. The displayed time zone is GMT! If you add them to your own calendar, the time zone should convert to your specified time zone.
To have your virtual event added to this calendar, contact Matt C., the CAM International Calendar contact.
There may be other virtual events, as well as in-person events, which may be of interest to CAM members, hosted by various local groups listed on the American Mensa Calendar of Events.
1/ Wednesday
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ChiMe Activity Bulletin and Advertising Deadlines. Last day for these submissions to the February ChiMe. Interested in organizing and hosting a virtual or in-person event? Find out how by checking out our guide to hosting events.
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ChiMe Editorial Deadline. Last day for editorial submissions to the February ChiMe. Please submit original articles, insights, puzzles, brain teasers, or short poems. Your fellow Chicago Area Mensa members would love to hear from you.
2/ Thursday
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Conversation with London Mensans 8 AM. Join a video chat with our kin from across the big pond in London at 2 PM BST. I [Carey] participated previously, along with a few other CAM members, and had a very nice chat with some of our “siblings” in the London area. RSVP (via Meetup preferred) to local host Carey S. to receive the Zoom sign-in information. The London host is Ian David Moseley.
Virtual Event!!
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Zoom Lunch 1 PM. Perhaps the longest running Mensa event anywhere, Chicago’s Zoom Lunch (formerly known as the Downtown Lunch) is held every week, alternating between Tuesday and Thursday. Join us for conversation, laughs, and attempts to define words you’ll never use again. The Zoom id is 836 1178 6315 and the passcode is 190710; it is also included as part of your host Jon G.’s contact information if you prefer a link. Questions? Contact Jon via email or call/text him. You may also RSVP via Meetup. We’d love to have you join us!
Virtual Event!!
3/ Friday
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Best Quadrantid Meteor Shower Viewing tonight through tomorrow morning. For more information, see the NASA website or see the viewing tips at space.com.
Public Event!!
5/ Sunday
7/ Tuesday
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Zoom Lunch 1 PM. See Thursday, January 2nd.
8/ Wednesday
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Northern Exposure Dinner Cancelled. Join us for dinner at a venue TBD in Lake County.
Event on Hiatus This Month!!
9/ Thursday
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Conversation with London Mensans 8 AM. See Thursday, January 2nd.
Virtual Event!!
10/ Friday
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Rockford-Area Lunch Noon. Join Dave and other Rockford-Area Mensans for lunch at The Machine Shed, located at 7475 E. State St. in Rockford (on the southwest corner of State St. and Bell School Rd.). To RSVP , for more information, or to get on our email list, contact Dave L., our Rockford-Area Coördinator. RSVP required in case of cancellation, time, or venue change. Do not RSVP via Meetup. This event usually recurs on the second Friday of the month.
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Poetry Discussion 7:30 PM. Our poetry group is using Zoom for meetings. Please send a poem or two to Joe D. by Friday, January 10th. Interested persons who are not currently members of the poetry group can contact Joe D. , and he will email the poems to be discussed. Contact Bill K. for the Zoom links or any help you might need. Do NOT RSVP via Meetup. This event is usually held on the evening of the second Friday of the month.
Virtual Event!!
13/ Monday
12/ Sunday
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Futures & Fantasies 2 PM. We will discuss a novel TBA. The discussion will take place in Conference Room G on the 3rd floor of the Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake St. in Oak Park. Water, soda and light snacks are acceptable. Parking is available under the building. To RSVP , or for more information about this event and/or SIG, contact Steve M., the SIG coördinator. The number of in-person attendees is limited, so you must RSVP. You may also RSVP on Meetup. F&F usually meets on the second Sunday of most odd-numbered months.
13/ Monday
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Martin Luther King Jr. Day
16/ Thursday
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Conversation with London Mensans 8 AM. See Thursday, January 2nd.
Virtual Event!!
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Zoom Lunch 1 PM. See Thursday, January 2nd.
18/ Saturday
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Conservatives Lunch 11:30 AM. Join other members of the Mensan cell of the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy for lunch and civilized un-PC conversation. No forbidden questions, no unchallengeable answers. This lunch happens on the third Saturday every month, but the location changes and can’t always be determined in time to make the ChiMe schedule. If you’re curious about the location at this month’s meeting place, email Jim Z. the event coördinator. You may also RSVP via Meetup. Open to non-Mensans; bring a curious friend.
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Beverly Area Saturday Salon (B.A.S.S.) ~Noon. Spontaneous conversation in far SSW Chicago, approximate vicinity of 107th St. & Western Ave. Please contact Rick E. the Beverly Area Coördinator, for this month’s location and the exact time as well as more information; if emailing, put “BASS” in the subject line. This event usually recurs midday on the 3rd Saturday of the month.
21/ Tuesday
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Zoom Lunch 1 PM. See Thursday, January 2nd.
22/ Wednesday
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GOBS Request Deadline Noon. Today is the last day to submit a request for GOBS funds to be approved at this Monday’s Business Meeting for any planned, eligible event, activity, or class taking place after Saturday, January 27th and through Saturday, February 17th or later; to be eligible, events involving CAM members must be published in the issue of ChiMe corresponding to the month in which they occur. For CAM events, it’s recommended you submit the GOBS request and get it approved before submitting your event information for publication in ChiMe — so no later than today for events planned for March. March events need to be submitted by the 1st of February to the activities editor to be included in the March ChiMe. An article must be featured in the March ChiMe for GOBS-subsidized April events with an RSVP deadline in March (same 1st of February deadline but article emailed to the editor; see editorial deadline).
23/ Thursday
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Conversation with London Mensans 8 AM. See Thursday, January 2nd.
Virtual Event!!
25/ Saturday
Our next
Monthly Gathering
occurs on
July 27th.
at the
Rolling Meadows Community Center
3705 Pheasant Drive, Rolling Meadows, IL 60008
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Monthly Gathering
(Date & Location Tentative)
The location of our January Monthly Gathering was the Rolling Meadows Community Center
3705 Pheasant Dr. in Rolling Meadows.Games and hospitality are in the spacious auditorium, with overflow space in the lobby. The speaker event is in the Card Room. A Parents-Kids Play Room is available after the Mensa Test. Park in the NW lot behind the building and use Entrance K (near inner corner). Please note that we have this venue only until midnight, so plan accordingly. This gathering is open to the public. So if you’re interested in learning more about Chicago Mensa, come join us. There is an admissions fee to help cover costs (major credit cards accepted).
Test:5 PM.Business Meeting:5 PM.Game room opens:6 PM.Nominations for Local Officers:7:30 PM.Program:~7:35 PM.Refreshments:8:30 PM - Midnight.The Nominating Committee is looking for qualified candidates to run for the elected positions on the Chicago Area Mensa Executive Committee. If you’re interested or just curious, see Deb J.’s article in the January 2024 ChiMe for details. You can also view the job descriptions and the required qualifications.
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The CAM Executive Committee has allocated GOBS funds to be used for the reimbursement of either or Uber ridesharing services from/to the Arlington Park METRA station. Details are on our Monthly Gathering page.
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Volunteer
Get involved! Hone your leadership, organizational, or web skills. We’re looking for volunteers to fill some of the open positions listed both near the back of ChiMe or on the List of Officers. Try your hand as the Gifted Youth Coördinator, a co-Program Officer, a website designer, or a MG Hospitality Volunteer. You can view the job descriptions and the required qualifications for all the open positions and ones you may be interested in. Or consider supervising the children at the MG for some extra cash.
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Express Yourself
Write an article, submit a photo, or create a puzzle for ChiMe; see our Submission Guidelines for contact information and deadlines. Host your own event or your own virtual event using Discord!Program Topic: TBA
MG Date/Location is Tentative!!
29/ Wednesday
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Lunar New Year
Year of the Snake
30/ Thursday
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Conversation with London Mensans 8 AM. See Thursday, January 2nd.
Virtual Event!!
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Zoom Lunch 1 PM. See Thursday, January 2nd.
31/ Friday
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1 February/ Saturday
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ChiMe Activity Bulletin and Advertising Deadlines. Last day for these submissions to the March ChiMe. Interested in organizing and hosting a virtual or in-person event? There’s bound to be an activity or a restaurant you want to try, but you just want some other people to experience it with you. So invite your fellow Mensans. Find out how by visiting our guide to hosting events.
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ChiMe Editorial Deadline. Last day for editorial submissions to the March ChiMe. Please submit original articles, insights, puzzles, brain teasers, photographs, or short poems. Your fellow Chicago Area Mensa members would love to hear from you.
Activities Bulletin
January 2025 (Tentative)
Already a CAM Discord member?
Simply open up the Discord app, look for the
CAM 
icon on the very left, and tap/click on it. You’ll often find fellow gamers online
even when no official CAM event is taking place.
New?
A few days before the event, check out the Introductory Guide to Discord as well as our CAM Discord FAQ for instructions about downloading the Discord app on the device you’ll be using, and registering yourself. Read the doc and/or peruse the various questions and answers to familiarize yourself with our customized version.
About three days prior to the event, the Invitation Link, needed only by new CAM Discord users, will be available as part of the event host’s contact info as a button. Tap/click on the button, then tap/click on the Invitation Link, and it will open the Discord app you installed. You must acknowledge the displayed Code of Conduct to see all the rooms (aka channels). Do this by tapping/clicking on the emoji symbol at the bottom that best describes Your membership category. Once you’ve done that, you’re in and won’t need an Invitation Link again.
When you join a Discord event you won’t automatically see all the participants like in Zoom when the host lets you in or you join a meeting in progress. Instead you’ll scroll down and find the channel specified as part of the event info. You get to see the list of names indicating who is in the channel before you tap/click on it to join. And if there is someone presenting, you’ll need to tap/click on the presenter’s feed or double-click the Live button next to the presenter’s name to enlarge the feed.
It may feel weird at first but the learning curve is pretty short and chances are you’ll like it better than Zoom and choose to use it to video call a fellow Mensa member/group who is part of the CAM Discord community and definitely to play online games while chatting with everyone participating.
RSVPs - Always contact the CAM event host as specified in the event details — email , phone , text , or Meetup .
Meetup
Chicago Mensa Meetup - All our events are listed; see who signed up, get notifications, and add the event(s) to your personal calendar. Check out the January calendar.
Chicago Mensa Meetup - All our events are listed; see who signed up, get notifications, and add the event(s) to your personal calendar. Check out the January calendar.