1/Wednes­day

• ChiMe Activity Bulletin Deadline. Last day for these submissions to the August ChiMe. Interested in organizing and hosting a virtual or in-person event? Find out how by checking out our guide to hosting events.

• ChiMe Editorial and Ad­ver­tising Deadlines. Last day for editorial submissions to the August ChiMe. Please submit original ar­ticles, insights, puzzles, brain teasers, or short poems. Your fellow Chicago Area Mensa members would love to hear from you.

• Annual Gathering (AG) in downtown Fort Worth, Texas in the Omni Fort Worth Hotel. See the AML 2026 AG website for details about the AG held Wednesday, July 1st through Sunday, July 5th.

2/Thurs­day

• Conversation with London Mensans 8 AM. Join a video chat with our kin from across the big pond in London at 2 PM BT. 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

• 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

4/Satur­day

7/Tues­day

9/Thurs­day

10/Fri­day

Poetry SIG

• Poetry Dis­cus­sion 7 PM. Our poetry group is using Zoom for meetings. Please send a poem or two to Joe D. by Monday, July 6th. 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!!

11/Satur­day

Rockford-Area Mensans

• Rockford-Area Pool Party 2 PM. Bring your own drinks and munchies to pass around to Ted K.’s. We’ll order out for pizza or something. Guests and family (children and grandchildren) welcome! To RSVP and for Ted’s address, for more information, or to get on our email list, contact Dave L., our Rockford-Area Coordinator. Do not RSVP via Meetup. Rain date is Sunday, July 12th at 2 PM.
  Schedule Change!!

12/Sun­day

Ethnic Dining

• Ethnic Dining 1 PM. Join us for a GOBS-subsidized lunch at a venue TBA. Save the date. For Ethnic Dining notifications, updates, and all the details, join the Mensa Connect Ethnic Dining Group, but do not respond using Mensa Connect. This event usually recurs on the 2nd Sunday of the month.

14/Tues­day

15/Wednes­day

• SFRM: Spy School 4:30 PM. Have you ever wondered what “Spy School” was like during the age of the Cold War? Find out from someone who was there.

  Don Grayson has a BS in Physics and obtained an MS in engineering at Purdue in 1972. He had 30-year career as a civilian engineer for the U.S. Navy in engineering management at the Naval Avionics Center Indianapolis. His assignments included U.S. NATO rep to Sweden, classified courier, project manager and technical analysis to various military radar and weapon guidance systems. Don is a sailboat hobbyist.

  For more details, visit the SFRM Zoom RSVPs FB Group or the SFRM List of Presentations. To register, visit San Francisco Regional Mensa (SFRM)’s registration signup for this event.
  Virtual Event!!

• Inquiring Minds: Neurodiversity Around the World: Respect, Responsibility and Resilience 2 PM. What if autism is the key to bridging the communication gap between dynamic societies and individuals? Felicia M. L. Davis, a Mensan with a master’s in organizational management, utilizes her autism to unlock the world of communication creating bridges to communicate fluidly.

  In this talk, Felicia will encourage discussion and questions about Autism Spectrum Disorder and will discuss attitudes towards ASD and resources available to people with ASD in various countries.

  See the full write-up and find contact info on the American Mensa Event. All attendees must preregister.
  Virtual Event!!

16/Thurs­day

18/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. The venue will be The Patio, 2780 S. Highland Ave. in Lombard (NW corner of Butterfield and Highland, but you can enter only from Highland). RSVP by emailing Jim Z. the event coor­di­na­tor. 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 Coordinator, 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.

19/Sun­day

• EMSC 2026 - European Mensa Science Camp. Registration is now open for European Mensa Science Camp 2026 (July 19–26 in Milow, Germany)! Designed for curious youth ages 12–19, this international camp blends science, technology, hands-on projects, and fun—bringing together Mensa friends from around the world for a week of learning, teamwork, and adventure. See the full write-up and find contact info on the American Mensa Event.

2018 CAM Picnic

• Chicago Area Mensa Annual Summer Picnic 11 AM. Held at Salt Creek Park in Elmhurst (just east of Rt. 83 & south of 2nd St.). Covered pavilion, grills, and food. Get most of the details here and continue to visit our website for updates. We’ll let you know when registration opens. In the meantime, save the date! Join us for a fun time outdoors. Save the date!

• Irish Mensa Lecture and Discussion: Bach’s Invention: The Divine Trickery of J .S. Bach 1 PM. Irish Mensa meets virtually on the third Monday of each month at 7 PM Irish Time; a discussion then follows the lecture.

  Behind the sublime precision and expressive power of Bach’s music lies a mischievous spirit. From puzzle canons (where the performer must solve a riddle to reach the score), melodies that run upside-down and backwards against themselves, hidden symbols, endless loops, to the embedding of numbers and names into the music, this lecture explores Bach’s ingenious trickery. Unravelling this thread enhances an appreciation—and sense of humanity and playfulness—to his transcendent music.

  Our Speaker: Professor Milton Mermikides is a composer, guitarist, technologist, academic and educator in a wide range of musical styles. He has collaborated with artists and scientists as diverse as Evelyn Glennie, Tim Minchin, Pat Martino, Peter Zinovieff, John Williams and Brian Eno. Son of a CERN nuclear physicist, he was raised with an enthusiasm for both the arts and sciences, an eclecticism which has been maintained throughout his teaching, research and creative career. Mermikides is a Professor of Music at the University of Surrey, Professor of Guitar at the Royal College of Music and Deputy Director of the International Guitar Research Centre. He is a graduate of the London School of Economics (BSc), Berklee College of Music (BMus) and the University of Surrey (PhD).

  For the full write-up and to join, visit the American Mensa Event. One does not have to register early for the event—simply click on the Zoom link before the session starts (check back here for that link on Tuesday, July 21st).
  Virtual Event!!

21/Tues­day

22/Wednes­day

• Best Night for Meteor Shower Viewing . Both the Southern Delta Aquariid shower will be hitting its peaks with as many as 20 meteors per hour. After midnight the moonlight is less likely to be an issue.

23/Thurs­day

26/Sun­day

• Theodore Talk: Born Smart or Built Smart? The Truth About Intelligence and Effort 2:30 PM. In this talk, Alexander Puutio, Adjunct Professor at Columbia University and author of the upcoming book AI for MBAs, will explore the critical distinction between being “born smart” and being “built smart.” He will also examine how curiosity, metacognition, resilience, and deliberate practice shape effective intelligence, often outweighing genetic endowment. By looking at how individuals and organizations foster, or sabotage, their own cognitive performance, we can identify the tools and environments that maximize human potential. For Mensa members in particular, the opportunity lies in shifting the conversation from static measures of IQ to dynamic strategies for making intelligence count in the world.

  To register for this Theodore Talk, visit the American Mensa Event or, on or after Friday, July 24th, tap/click on the Zoom link that will be available here on our website. See a list of all the Theodore talks on the American Mensa Event Calendar. Even if you can’t attend the live talk, provided you register, you will receive a link to a recording of the event. Closed captioning enabled.
  Virtual Event!!

Our next Bi-Monthly Gathering occurs on April 25th.
at the
Rolling Mead­ows Com­mu­ni­ty Center
3705 Pheasant Dr., Rolling Meadows, IL 60008
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Our April MG is free for all CAM members!

* * * * * *
The next ExComm Business Meeting is being held at 5 PM on Sunday, March 29th via Zoom.

• Monthly ExComm Business Meeting 5 PM. Held via Zoom during odd months. Our ExComm and any other interested members discuss various topics and issues as well as GOBS requests. Members are welcome to attend and voice their opinions, but only the five elected members of the Executive Committee can vote. The Zoom login info will be available on our Contacts webpage after Saturday, June 20th.
  Tentative: Date & Time; may change after the New ExComm is Elected in April!!
  Virtual Event!!

28/Tues­day

• MEANS (North Suburbs) Dinner 6:30 PM. Join Mensans Eating Around North Suburbs (MEANS) at Hackney’s on Lake located at 1514 E. Lake Ave. in Glenview. Free parking. Separate checks available. Limit 12. Please RSVP via Meetup (preferred) or email Brent B. Recurs on the 4th Tuesday of the month.

• 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 Event. Even if you can’t attend the live talk, provided you register, you will receive a link to a recording of the event. Closed captioning enabled.
  Virtual Event!!

30/Thurs­day

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1 August/Satur­day