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.
15/ Monday
-
NNW Dinner: Mexican 6 PM. Dinner will be at Hacienda El Sombrero located at 1100 S. Elmhurst Rd. in Mount Prospect (in a strip mall on the west side of Elmhurst Rd. (IL RT 83), just south of Golf Rd.). Dining might be indoors or outdoors, depending on conditions. This is a GOBS-subsidized event where ½ the total cost (including tax plus a 20% tip, rounded up to the nearest dollar) of a CAM member’s, and up to one guest’s, dinner will be covered for a maximum of fifteen people — for a maximum subsidy of $20/person; cash (no coins) or PayPal only for your portion. RSVP (and get more details) on Meetup, but if not on Meetup, email Ken L.. Email RSVPs will receive a response from Ken.
-
Irish Mensa Lecture and Discussion: The Toxic Legacy of Lead 1 PM. Irish Mensa meets virtually on the third Monday of each month at 7 PM Irish Time; a discussion then follows the lecture.
Evidence that childhood lead exposure caused stunted intelligence and behavioral problems motivated efforts to ban lead in petrol, with the world finally eradicating leaded fuel in 2021. This is a public-health success story, but it took a long time to force industry to take action. The lead released from historic emissions persists within the environment and there is emerging evidence of continuing health effects. The legacy of lead remains and will be explored in this lecture.
Dr. Ian Mudway is a Visiting Professor of Environmental Health. He is a senior lecturer in the School of Public Health at Imperial, a member of the MRC Centre for Environment and Health; MRC & Asthma UK Centre in Allergic Mechanisms of Asthma; and the NIHR-PHE Health Protection Research Units in Environmental Exposures and Health and Chemical and Radiation Threats and Hazards.
He has over 25 years of experience researching the impacts of air pollution on human health and in the development of assays to quantify the toxicity of the chemical cocktails that pollute the air we breathe. Currently his work is focused on understanding early life impacts of pollutants on the development of the lung and cognitive function in children living within urban populations, as well as furthering our fundamental understanding of the mechanisms that drive these adverse effects and modify an individual’s susceptibility to air pollution.
For the full write-up and to join, visit the American Mensa event. One does not have to register for the event — simply click on the Zoom link at the appropriate date and time.
Virtual Event!!
October 31 – November 3, 2024
Only 107 more days! Join us for a fun, long weekend with hundreds of Mensans, their families, and friends at the Westin in Wheeling including lots of programs and games as well as most meals. Register Now! (Rates increase after Wednesday, July 17th.) Book your room by October 17th.17/ Wednesday
-
WeeM 48: Road Trippin’ Rate Increase Alert! Join the fun at WeeM at the Chicago North Shore Westin in Wheeling starting Thursday, October 31st through Sunday, November 3rd. Today is the last day you can preregister for WeeM and qualify for the best discount before the next rate increase. Preregistering means you won’t have to fill out any forms at registration, you’ll get a pre-printed badge, and you can pay via PayPal. And best of all, it’ll be much quicker to get your registration packet when you arrive. Also, if you’re paying by check, it must be received no later than today or you will need to remit a check for the increased rate.
18/ Thursday
-
Conversation with London Mensans 8 AM. Join a video chat with our kin from across the big pond in London at 2 PM BDT. 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!!
-
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!!
19/ Friday
-
North Suburbs Lunch 11:30 AM. Corner Bakery located at 3232 Lake Ave. in Wilmette (in the Edens Plaza). Please RSVP by email or phone to Brent B..
New Monthly Event!!
20/ Saturday
-
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.
-
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 on the 3rd Saturday of the month, about midday.
-
Gifted Youth Virtual Board Game 3 PM. Board Game Arena
has a nice facility for playing games with friends on-line. It includes a chat feature
and we have a Zoom link for those that want to talk outside of the game.
Login to the
BGA website
before the event and register if you haven’t already joined. Email your username to
Bill R.
so he can send a message to let people know who they should meet up with.
Your host is wrock_NTM.
Virtual Event!!
21/ Sunday
Jim Underdown
-
SFRM: Testing Real Life Superpowers Virtual Discussion 4:30 PM. Individuals all over the world claim to have superpowers beyond those of mortal people. And millions believe in the alleged ability to read minds, see into the future, move objects through mental processes, and more. But are these abilities real? That’s where Jim Underdown and the Center for Inquiry Investigations group comes in. Jim’s team tests more paranormal claimants than anyone in the world. He’ll go over the processes and detail-specific methods he and the CFI Investigations Group employ when designing scientifically controlled tests for the CFIIG $500,000 Paranormal Challenge, which happens to be the largest such prize in the world.
Jim Underdown is executive director of the Center for Inquiry West and the chair and founder of the CFI Investigations Group. He is also one of the hosts of CFI’s flagship podcast, Point of Inquiry, and also hosts SkeptiLab: The Bunk Stops Here!.
For more details, visit the SFRM Zoom RSVPs FB Group or SFRM Presentation Info for this event.
Virtual Event!!
23/ Tuesday
-
Breakfast in Mount Prospect 10 AM. Breakfast or lunch and conversation at Jelly Café located at 1784 W. Golf Rd. in Mount Prospect (northwest corner of Golf Rd. and Busse Hwy.), featuring a large and diverse menu. Dining might be indoors or outdoors, depending on conditions. Separate checks are available. Use Meetup, but if not on Meetup, RSVP to Ken L. via email. If you RSVP by email, your reservation is not confirmed until you receive a confirmation email.
-
Zoom Lunch 1 PM. See Thursday, July 18th.
-
Dinner Out West: Mexican 6:30 PM. Dinner Out West is going back to the beginning—the very first DOW was at La Hacienda De Roselle at 35 W. Irving Park Rd. in Roselle. They have a large menu and great margaritas. This is a GOBS-subsidized event. GOBS will cover ½ of your meal cost, including tax and tip (rounded up to the nearest dollar), up to a maximum subsidy of $15, for each CAM member and their guest. Cash, Zelle, or PayPal for your portion. Limit 20 people. Reservations are required so Beth knows how big of a table to reserve. RSVP via Meetup (preferred) or directly to Beth W. no later than Sunday, July 21st.
24/ Wednesday
-
GOBS Request Deadline Noon. Today is the last day to submit a request for GOBS funds to be approved at this Saturday’s Business Meeting for any planned, eligible event, activity, or class taking place after Saturday, July 27th and through Saturday, August 24th 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 September. September events need to be submitted by the 1st of August to the activities editor to be included in the September ChiMe. An article must be featured in the September ChiMe for GOBS-subsidized October events with an RSVP deadline in September (same 1st of August deadline but article emailed to the editor; see editorial deadline).
25/ Thursday
-
Conversation with London Mensans 8 AM. See Thursday, July 18th.
Virtual Event!!
27/ Saturday
-
CAM July Monthly Gathering @Rolling Meadows Community Center
Monthly Gathering
The location of our July Monthly Gathering is 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 general 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). Members, RSVP via Meetup to let your friends know you’re going to be there.
Test:5 PM.Business Meeting:5 PM.Game room opens:6 PM.Program:7:30 PM.Refreshments:8:30 PM - Midnight.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.
* * * * *
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.
* * * * *
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!
If there is a spike in Covid cases, the in-person MG may become virtual & testing would be cancelled!!Program Topic: Artificial Intelligence Promise & Perils
Are you worried about artificial intelligence? It seems to be everywhere. Lance Erlick will share with us his research into artificial intelligence.
As Lance says, “Leading scientific names have expressed concern about the risks posed by AI. Thanks to recent breakthroughs, many milestones, which experts viewed as decades away only seven years ago, have now been reached, making experts take seriously the possibility of superintelligence in our lifetime.
While some experts still believe human-level AI is centuries away, most researchers at the 2015 Puerto Rico Conference and 2017 Asilomar Conference guessed it could happen before 2060. Come join a discussion of the current state of AI, the promise, myths, threats, and what we should know about changes coming to our world.”
Show all…As the author of the Android Chronicles trilogy, about an advanced android with artificial intelligence who rebels against her creator, science fiction writer Lance Erlick has researched, written, and presented about AI since 2017. He worked with computers and programming since he was 18, and watched capabilities grow exponentially in spurts and pauses since.
Other than AI, Mr. Erlick has published a variety of science fiction about challenging issues facing our world, such as abrupt climate change (his Regina Shen series), a second American civil war (his Rebel and what happens if an assertive alien species uncovers our treasured retreat on the series), outskirts of the Milky Way Galaxy Galaxy (Xenogeneic: First Contact).
Show less
28/ Sunday
-
Theodore Talk: A Horological Discourse: Mechanism, Risk and Wonder 2:30 PM. With ingenuity and design came reflection on our place in the universe, the tilt of the earth’s axis, precision and predictability, and the limits of our cognitive capacities. We engineered mechanisms to navigate our oceans and map the cosmos, explore metaphysical realms by animating the dead and rendering forms from the golden mean. We generated machines of wonder that could play music, make magic and conjure bird song. We made devices for detonating the first manifestation of manmade existential risk, destroying living organisms by the millions.
Through examining the connections between this diverse set of objects, we will trace the story of craft and the science of horology, demonstrating its pivotal role in design through the ages and why their preservation is vital to our future.
Brittany Nicole Cox, a horological conservator based in Seattle Washington, has a Masters in the Conservation of Clocks and Related Dynamic Objects from West Dean College, UK. She founded Memoria Technical in 2015 where she teaches, makes original work, and operates her conservation studio. Her work has been shown at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York and was featured in National Geographic and two feature-length documentaries. She has written for Vanity Fair and is working on a manuscript to be published by Penguin Press. See the full write-up and find contact info on the American Mensa Events website. Even if you can’t attend the live talk, as long as you register you will receive a link to a recording of the event. Closed captioning enabled.
Virtual Event!!
* * * * *
1 August/ Thursday
-
ChiMe Activity Bulletin and Advertising Deadlines. Last day for these submissions to the September 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.
-
ChiMe Editorial Deadline. Last day for editorial submissions to the September 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.
-
Conversation with London Mensans 8 AM. See Thursday, July 18th.
Virtual Event!!
-
Zoom Lunch 1 PM. See Thursday, July 18th.
Activities Bulletin
July 2024
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 July 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 July calendar.