Monthly Gather­ing

Our next Monthly Gathering occurs on December 6th.
at the
Rolling Mead­ows Com­mu­ni­ty Center
3705 Pheasant Drive, Rolling Meadows, IL 60008

* * * * * *
The next Business Meeting is being held at 10 AM on Sunday, November 2nd in Wheeling.

Our Chicago Area Monthly Gatherings are open to the public. Anyone interested in finding out more about Mensa is welcome to attend. There is no Monthly Gathering during October nor November nor during the month of the Annual Picnic. Our next Monthly Gathering is in December.

Join us for HalloweeM, which is the largest Regional Gathering (RG) in the US. It's a long weekend of fun for the whole family. WeeM will be held in the Westin North Shore Hotel located at 601 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Wheeling on Oct. 30th–Nov. 2nd. There will be a Business Meeting on Sunday, November 2nd at 10 AM in the hotel, which any Chicago Area Mensa member is invited to attend, without paying for the RG.

The December Monthly Gathering, held on Saturday, December 6th, will be in the Rolling Mead­ows Com­mu­ni­ty Center at 3705 Pheasant Dr. in Rolling Meadows.

Gatherings are held each month, except for every No­vem­ber. Check this site to ensure you’re heading to the correct venue. Members can also check Chicago Mensa Meetup or the latest issue of ChiMe. The website will supersede information in ChiMe should there be a discrepancy.

TypicalMonthly Gathering

5:00 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. During October, the cost of our in-person test is 50% off! Walk-ins are welcome but you cannot be late; it’s best to contact the test coordinator in case the session is cancelled. To see if any of your past tests (ACT, SAT, LSAT…) qualify for membership, see which tests qualify. Or arrange for an approved private test.

5:00 PM 10:00 AM on Sunday, November 2nd.

Business Meeting — Our five elected ExComm members and any other interested members discuss various topics and issues. Members are welcome to attend and voice their opinions, but only the Executive Committee can vote.

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 Gathering (there are just too many). Contact our Game Warden to ensure a specific one is available.

Kids Room opens under the supervision of volunteers and parents. The Youth Program has been relaunched. We’ll have hands-on activities, often shaped by the kids themselves.

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.

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.

The majority of the people start arriving around 7 PM. Usually, about 40-80 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, contact 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 kids to hang out together in a sepa­rate room where the children can play together under the supervision of volunteers and parents.

Fees

Admission
Fees *
Ages
18-∞ 8-17
Members $10.00 $5.00
Guests $12.00 $7.00
Check-in starts at 7 PM.
CAM is now accepting major credit cards at the MGs.

* Children under the age of 8 are free provided they under the supervision of an adult attending the gathering.

Venue Info for

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 30th through Sunday, November 2nd. Expect games, dance(s), programs, and costume contests. Get the most up-to-date information about WeeM by visiting our website. 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).

Book your room today! The hotel is offering a WeeM room rate of $129 through October 9th. 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 also a pool and workout equipment.

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. For detailed directions, visit our HalloweeM directions webpage.

The hotel offers a shuttle service from the nearby METRA stations . Please call them well in advance to arrange a pickup given staff shortages have increased wait times. Otherwise use one of the ridesharing services like or Uber .

Schedule

2025

October 30th–November 2nd

HalloweeM
Westin North Shore Hotel
601 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Wheeling, IL 60090

Add HalloweeM

November 2nd
ExComm Business Meeting
No Gathering
 

Add ExComm Business Meeting

December 6th
Monthly Gathering
Rolling Mead­ows Com­mu­ni­ty Center
3705 Pheasant Drive
Rolling Meadows, IL 60008

2026

January 29th
Tentative
ExComm Business Meeting
No Gathering
 
 
February 14th?
Bi-Monthly Gathering
& AGOG
Tentative
Westin North Shore Hotel?
601 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Wheeling, IL 60090
 

If a Gathering or Business Meeting is tentative, both the lo­ca­tion and date may change. Please check this site, ChiMe or Meetup about a month before the event for any changes, although the info on this site supersedes the information in ChiMe.

Mensa Testing

The test is administered at 2 PM during HalloweeM and at 5 PM at every Monthly Gathering. Walk-ins are welcome, but you cannot be late. Get more information about taking a proctored test to join Mensa including preregistering to guarantee a spot or to view different dates and lo­ca­tions. You must pre­reg­ister at certain sites and to take advantage of some special offers from American Mensa —the cost of the proctored in-person test is 50% off during October. Or check out if any of the tests you’ve taken in the past (ACT, SAT, LSAT…) can be used as prior evidence to qualify to join. Or through the end of this month, arrange for an approved Private Test at a 10% discount.

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