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
![mayday.gif](images/mayday.gif)
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ChiMe Activity Bulletin and Advertising Deadlines. Last day for these submissions to the June 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 June 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
![Big-Ben.jpg](images/Big-Ben.jpg)
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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 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 to local host Carey S. to receive the Zoom sign-in information. The London host is Ian David Moseley.
Virtual Event!!
4/ Saturday
5/ Sunday
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Cinco de Mayo
8/ Wednesday
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Dinner in the NW Suburbs Cancelled. 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.
Event Cancelled!!
9/ Thursday
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Conversation with London Mensans 8 AM. See Thursday, May 2nd.
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. We’d love to have you join us!
Virtual Event!!
10/ Friday
![chinese-dish.png](images/chinese-dish.png)
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Rockford-Area Dinner 6:30 PM. Join Dave and other Rockford-Area Mensans for dinner at The Great Wall located at 4228 E. State St. in Rockford (located just west of Alpine on the north side of State). 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. This event usually recurs on the second Friday of the month.
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Poetry Discussion Rescheduled. This event is usually held on the evening of the second Friday of the month.
Event Rescheduled for next Friday, the 17th!!
12/ Sunday
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Mother’s Day
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Futures & Fantasies Cancelled. F&F on hiatus this month. See you in July.
Event on Hiatus!!
14/ Tuesday
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Zoom Lunch 1 PM. See Thursday, May 9th.
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Northern Exposure Dinner 6:45 PM. Polar bears paddling around your pool? Then you should have dinner with us. Join us at Ristorante Bottaio, in Libertyville for some of the best Italian food around. The address is 946 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Libertyville This restaurant is on a busy stretch of Milwaukee Ave., and has little or no street parking nearby. It is valet parking only. (The service is complimentary, although tips are appreciated.) Please RSVP on Meetup or via Janice’s email, jesser@chicago.us.mensa.org , so she can reserve a big enough table.
15/ 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 Saturday’s Business Meeting for any planned, eligible event, activity, or class taking place after Saturday, May 18th and through Saturday, June 22nd 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.
16/ Thursday
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Conversation with London Mensans 8 AM. See Thursday, May 2nd.
Virtual Event!!
17/ Friday
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Poetry Discussion 7:30 PM. Our poetry group is using Zoom for meetings. Interested persons who are not currently members of the poetry group can contact Joe D. , and he will email the poems to be discussed or you can view them by tapping/clicking here. This event is usually held on the evening of the second Friday of the month.
Schedule Change!!
Virtual Event!!
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Central Indiana Mensa OMG! held today through Sunday, May 19th, at the Versailles State Park at 1387 U.S. 50 East in Versailles, Indiana. An outdoor excursion to a group of cabins in the woods. Reasonably described as “camping-lite,” the Outdoor Mensa Gathering (or OMG!) is a trip to the great outdoors of Indiana, with a campfire, hiking, board games, card games, guided discussions, and other activities. You get food, lodging, scenery, and more. For additional details and regisration rates, see their flyer or visit the Mensa of Indiana website,
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Animae Central (ACen) held today through Sunday, May 19th at the Donald E. Stephens (DES) Convention Center at 5555 N. River Rd. in Rosemont and at the Hyatt O’Hare. See the special guests and performers. For more information, visit their website.
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. 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 coördinator. Open to non-Mensans; bring a curious friend.
![beverlyLibrary.jpg](images/beverlyLibrary.jpg)
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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.
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
The location of our May 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.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.
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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: Who’s Who of Owls—Live Birds of Prey
presented by Mark Spreyer
We are privileged this month to not only have Mark Spreyer with us, but also his volunteers from the Stillman Nature Center handling 4 or 5 live birds of prey. Mark’s volunteers will be bringing the birds through the audience. This offers a rare opportunity to see these beautiful creatures close-up while hearing Mark’s engaging stories about these birds and others of their kind.
“To some people, owls are symbols of wisdom but to others their hoots are harbingers of death and doom.” Join award-winning naturalist Mark Spreyer as he reveals the truth about many of our North American owls and other raptors. The owl’s amazing hunting adaptations will be explained. Special feathered guests illustrate just who’s who!
Show all…Mark Spreyer did his graduate work in Minnesota on great gray owls and then went on to organize and direct Chicago’s peregrine falcon release program. Under his leadership, Chicago hosted the first nest of peregrines in Illinois in 37 years. In 1989, he returned to Minnesota where he worked with the Minnesota National Wildlife Refuge and other conservation organizations. In 1995, after completing work on a raptor exhibit with the Science Museum of Minnesota, Mark migrated back to Illinois to become Executive Director of the Stillman Nature Center in Barrington.
During his career, Mark has also worked with the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, National Audubon Society, and Chicago Academy of Sciences. He has taught courses for the College of Lake County and Northeastern Illinois University. Mark currently writes a nature column for the Daily Herald.
Show less
19/ Sunday
![202405sfmSFauthors.png](images/202405sfmSFauthors.png)
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SFRM: Many Modes of Mind 4:30 PM. Science fiction often describes our meetings with other intelligent species many times a universal communicator or an assumption of a common language bypasses the need to explain communication. In the real world we will have to establish a way to communicate even if we have no commonality to serve as a basis.
- What senses could be used to communicate, one of the five we have or something we can’t even imagine.
- Coiled there be no form of communication because there is no need? A hive mind or a colony creature like a jellyfish, Perhaps what appears to be a discrete creature actually parts of one being with no more necessity to communicate than you do when you move a limb.
Our panel consists of four current science fiction writers who will discuss multiple possibilities in the realm of communication with beings sharing our world and those that we may meet in our future explorations. Please register early. To register, visit San Francisco Regional Mensa (SFRM)’s registration signup for this event. For more details, visit the SFRM Zoom RSVPs group on Facebook.
Virtual Event!!
20/ Monday
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Irish Mensa Lecture and Discussion: The Maths of Board Games 1 PM. Irish Mensa meets virtually on the third Monday of each month at 7 PM Irish Time; a discussion then follows the lecture.
Why are there chess Grandmasters, but not Grandmasters of noughts and crosses (otherwise known as tic-tac-toe)? It is because chess is “harder” — but what do we really mean by that? Answering that question leads us to develop the idea of mathematical complexity, which is a measure of how ‘big’ a game is. We’ll look at the complexity of popular games, and ask: what is the hardest game of all time?
Professor Sarah Hart is the first woman Professor of Geometry at Gresham College, and was appointed in 2020. She is Professor Emerita of Mathematics at Birkbeck, University of London. She studied at Oxford and Manchester, gaining her PhD in 2000. Postdoctoral research and teaching followed, including a prestigious Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Fellowship, before she was appointed to a lectureship at Birkbeck in 2004. She became Professor of Mathematics there in 2013, and served in various management roles including as Head of Mathematics and Statistics, Assistant Dean, and Programme Director for the MSc Mathematics.
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!!
21/ Tuesday
![breakfast.png](images/breakfast.png)
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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.
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Mensa Testing 6 PM. The location is in the River North neighborhood of downtown Chicago. You must preregister and prepay — very limited seating. Parking is very expensive; public transit is strongly recommended! Latecomers (you must arrive before 6 PM to be admitted) and anyone without a reserved spot will not be admitted. If you are or someone you know is interested in joining Mensa, see our Testing Information for contact details and additional dates/locations.
Event Not in ChiMe!!
23/ Thursday
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Conversation with London Mensans 8 AM. See Thursday, May 2nd.
Virtual Event!!
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Zoom Lunch 1 PM. See Thursday, May 9th.
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Dinner Out West: Let’s Fly Away 6:30 PM. If we get a good table, we can be “just sittin’ out here watching airplanes” during our dinner. DOW this month is at Pilot Pete’s, located at 905 W. Irving Park Rd. in Schaumburg. 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 $25, 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 Monday, May 20th.
25/ Saturday
![volunteer.png](images/volunteer.png)
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Mensa Cares: Land & Waterways 2 PM. This month, naturalist and educator Karen Jensen will lead us as we walk along the Des Plaines River in the Lake County Forest Preserve. We will be participants in an open data citizen science project. The Marine Debris Tracker app helps to answer the question of what the different types and amounts of debris are in order that we may prevent such debris from happening.
Karen will instruct us in what and how we will do what we will do, but this will involve walking on the forest preserve trails. Wear comfortable shoes, clothing and your citizen scientist hat (the winner of the best hat gets big kudos from Karen!). Also, bring a well charged phone, water and snacks to carry along with you. You will download the Marine Debris Tracker App and Karen will assign us our group (Chicago Area Mensa) by which we will track what we find. Some participants may want to only record what is found and some may want to pick up debris — that is up to you (bring gloves, we will provide the debris bags).
The location is Edward L. Ryerson Welcome Center, 21950 Riverwoods Rd. in Riverwoods. The entrance is on Riverwoods Road between Half Day Road (Route 22) and Deerfield Road, just west of Interstate 94. Signs to the Welcome Center will be easy to see and follow. For more details, see the May ChiMe. If you have any questions or you wish to RSVP , email our Community Services Coördinator Jean D. .
26/ Sunday
![jazz-band.png](images/jazz-band.png)
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Theodore Talk: Rags To Bebop: The Swinging Sounds Of Kansas City 2:30 PM. Fueled by riffs and powered by tight ensemble work, Kansas City jazz first rolled across the nation in the 1930s. The list of musicians who worked and made their home in Kansas City during the golden age of jazz represent a veritable Who’s Who of Jazz: Count Basie, Mary Lou Williams, Lester Young, Bennie Moten, Walter Page, Jay McShann, Joe Turner, Pete Johnson, Julia Lee, Harlan Leonard, Andy Kirk, and Kansas City’s most infamous son — Charlie “Bird” Parker.
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!!
27/ Monday
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Memorial Day
28/ Tuesday
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Zoom Lunch 1 PM. See Thursday, May 9th.
30/ Thursday
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Conversation with London Mensans 8 AM. See Thursday, May 2nd.
Virtual Event!!
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1 June/ Saturday
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ChiMe Activity Bulletin and Advertising Deadlines. Last day for these submissions to the July 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 July 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.
![logo](../weem/2024/WeeM48Logo.1000x319.png)
![2024Theme](/weem/2024/WeeM48LogoTheme.750x256.png)
October 31 – November 3, 2024
Only 96 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 for a discount by October 18th. Book your room by October 17th.RSVPs:
To protect our members’ privacy, contact information has been removed from this listing but is available on our website for members only. Each of the CAM events has a link to the host’s RSVP information which also takes you to this same information.
Password Issues?
You must use the AM password reset. If you forgot your id (email address), contact the National Office. Their phone number and email address are at the bottom of AM login webpage.
Event Emails
CAM members will get periodic Mensa Connect emails about upcoming events, including ones that did not make it into ChiMe, or to get notified of any special events or last minute changes.
Activities Bulletin
May 2024
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12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
![discord.png](../weem/images/discord.png)
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
Meetup and the website sometimes include events that are not in the May ChiMe. So consider signing up for this great tool and then join the CAM group — an active Mensa number will be requested to verify your Mensa membership. Because Meetup notifies the host directly, it doesn’t require the same RSVP contact information that is on our website and in ChiMe.
- RSVP, but you should always contact the CAM event coördinator as specified. A few CAM event coördinators are not members of Meetup, so for those events, your RSVP there only lets other CAM Meetup members know you are attending, plus you benefit by getting reminders.
- It’s easy to use Meetup to add the event info to your personal calendar.
- Set up notifications and Meetup will email you about upcoming events. (You can adjust your Meetup email settings to limit notifications to one email/day.)
And why not host your own event, virtual or in-person?
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 calendar,
Meetup
Meetup and the website sometimes include events that are not in the May ChiMe. So consider signing up for this great tool and then join the CAM group — an active Mensa number will be requested to verify your Mensa membership. Because Meetup notifies the host directly, it doesn’t require the same RSVP contact information that is on our website and in ChiMe.
- RSVP, but you should always contact the CAM event coördinator as specified. A few CAM event coördinators are not members of Meetup, so for those events, your RSVP there only lets other CAM Meetup members know you are attending, plus you benefit by getting reminders.
- It’s easy to use Meetup to add the event info to your personal calendar.
- Set up notifications and Meetup will email you about upcoming events. (You can adjust your Meetup email settings to limit notifications to one email/day.)
And why not host your own event, virtual or in-person?
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 calendar,