National Events Calendar

Happening this week

Irish Mensa Lecture and Discussion -- The Convoluted Brain: Wrinkles and Folds

Virtual meeting

No group assigned

The human brain has a very distinct and complex appearance with valleys and ridges folding over themselves. The same convolutions are found in large mammals, but not in smaller ones. Simple mathematical models can help us understand the emergence of these beautiful patterns during development as well as their pathology.

Starts
 January 20, 2025
 1:00 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

Ends
 January 20, 2025
 3:00 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

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Theodore Talk -- Exploring the Universe: Citizen Science and Beyond with the Adler Planetarium and Zooniverse

Virtual meeting

No group assigned

Join Laura Trouille, Vice President of Science Engagement at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago and Principal Investigator for Zooniverse, for an engaging exploration into the world of citizen science and space discovery.

Starts
 January 26, 2025
 2:30 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

Ends
 January 26, 2025
 4:00 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

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Discover upcoming events

American Mensa Finance Committee Annual Budget Meeting

Committee Meeting

Starts
 February 8, 2025
 9:00 AM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

Ends
 February 8, 2025
 3:00 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

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StaRGazing 2025

Regional Gathering

Greater Los Angeles Area Mensa

Get away from the cold and snow, and join us for StaRGazing 2025! Scintillating speakers! Enthralling entertainment! Games galore! A kid's track! Friday night karaoke! A Saturday night stand-up comedy special! Live music performance Sunday afternoon! 

Starts
 February 14, 2025
 3:00 PM America/Los Angeles (GMT-08:00)

Ends
 February 16, 2025
 3:00 PM America/Los Angeles (GMT-08:00)

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Mensa=Con

Regional Gathering

Central Alabama Mensa

SyFy Convention for smarties: Boldly go to a galaxy far far away in Irondale, Alabama, February 14 - 16, 2025!

Starts
 February 14, 2025
 4:00 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

Ends
 February 16, 2025
 11:00 AM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

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A Gathering of Gamers (AGOG)

Fun & Frivolity

Chicago Area Mensa

Starts
 February 14, 2025
 3:00 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

Ends
 February 16, 2025
 3:00 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

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A Walk in Winter Park - CFM Mini Gathering

Fun & Frivolity

Central Florida Mensa

Starts
 February 15, 2025
 9:00 AM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

Ends
 February 15, 2025
 11:55 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

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Presentation: Meet The Beatles You Thought You Knew!

Virtual meeting

Southeast Michigan Mensa

Starts
 February 15, 2025
 7:00 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

Ends
 February 15, 2025
 9:00 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

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The Einstein Effect: How the World's Favorite Genius Got Into Our Cars, Our Bathrooms and Our Minds

Virtual meeting

San Francisco Regional Mensa

Join San Francisco Regional Mensa via Zoom on Sunday, Feb. 16 at 4:30 p.m. (CST) as Benyamin Cohen, journalist and award-winning author of The Einstein Effect: How the World's Favorite Genius Got Into Our Cars, Our Bathrooms and Our Minds, gives us a fascinating and funny overview of history's favorite genius, and explains why he still matters.

Starts
 February 16, 2025
 4:30 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

Ends
 February 16, 2025
 7:00 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

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Irish Mensa Lecture and Discussion: Is Music Infinite?

Virtual meeting

No group assigned

This lecture explores the very limits of music: Investigating historical efforts to catalogue musical materials including the melacarta of Carnatic music, the wazn of Arabic maqam, Slonimsky's Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns, Schillinger's Encyclopedia of Rhythms, Forte numbers, and contemporary attempts to 'pre-copyright' every possible melody yet to be written.

Starts
 February 17, 2025
 1:00 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

Ends
 February 17, 2025
 3:00 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

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Theodore Talk -- Made in Chicago: Stories Behind 30 Great Hometown Bites

Virtual meeting

No group assigned

In Made in Chicago: Stories Behind 30 Great Hometown Bites, authors Monica Eng and David Hammond will discuss lesser-known mom-n'-pop places that serve more affordable – but no less satisfying – food to tens of thousands of Chicagoans every day.

Starts
 February 23, 2025
 2:30 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

Ends
 February 23, 2025
 4:00 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

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MAD MAC's Flipped RG

Regional Gathering

Cincinnati Area Mensa

Starts
 March 7, 2025
 4:00 PM US/Eastern (GMT-05:00)

Ends
 March 9, 2025
 1:00 PM US/Eastern (GMT-05:00)

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American Mensa Committee Meeting

Committee Meeting

A meeting of the American Mensa Committee will be held on March 15, starting at 10 a.m., Central time.

Starts
 March 15, 2025
 10:00 AM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

Ends
 March 15, 2025
 5:00 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

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Theodore Talk -- Shedd Aquarium

Virtual meeting

No group assigned

Serving as a portal to the aquatic animal world, Shedd Aquarium brings guests eye-to-eye with belugas and bluegills, stingrays and sturgeons, coral reefs, kelp forests, and countless other species from around the world.

Starts
 March 23, 2025
 1:00 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

Ends
 March 23, 2025
 2:30 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

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Theodore Talk -- Chicago's Best Art Deco Skyscrapers

Virtual meeting

No group assigned

This program, presented by the Chicago Architecture Center, will briefly describe Art Deco's origins and characteristics, then explore in detail five of Chicago's Art Deco skyscrapers, all of which are official city landmarks meticulously restored to their original glory.

Starts
 March 23, 2025
 3:00 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

Ends
 March 23, 2025
 5:00 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

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Beyond the Microscope: Identifying Microorganisms Then and Now

Virtual meeting

San Francisco Regional Mensa

Starts
 April 16, 2025
 2:30 PM America/Los Angeles (GMT-08:00)

Ends
 April 16, 2025
 5:00 PM America/Los Angeles (GMT-08:00)

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Meet the Beatles You Thought You Knew

Virtual meeting

San Francisco Regional Mensa

Starts
 April 20, 2025
 2:30 PM America/Los Angeles (GMT-08:00)

Ends
 April 20, 2025
 5:00 PM America/Los Angeles (GMT-08:00)

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Mind Games 2025

National Meeting

Join us for Mind Games 2025, April 24 - 27 in Portland, Ore., a four-day board-game-judging marathon, during which the year's five best new-to-market games are chosen and awarded the coveted Mensa Select® seal.

Starts
 April 24, 2025
 6:00 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

Ends
 April 27, 2025
 2:00 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

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Theodore Talk -- When the World Came to Chicago: The World's Columbian Exposition of 1893

Virtual meeting

No group assigned

In this lavishly illustrated talk, Dr. Nicholas McCormack will examine a brief history of world's fairs and the context for Chicago playing host to the first one in the United States. You'll learn how the fair was designed, what its intended purpose was, and its impact on Chicago and the future of world's fairs, especially Chicago's second world's fair in 1933-34. There is a vibrant scholarship — a historiography — of world's fairs that highlights serious issues such as colonialism, classism, and racism, which many popular tellings of the Columbian Exposition and other world's fairs either ignore or distort. This talk will engage with those debates and issues as well.

Starts
 April 27, 2025
 2:30 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

Ends
 April 27, 2025
 4:00 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

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Escaping the Nazis: The Untold Story of the Kindertransport From Someone Who Was on the Train

Virtual meeting

San Francisco Regional Mensa

Starts
 May 18, 2025
 2:30 PM America/Los Angeles (GMT-08:00)

Ends
 May 18, 2025
 5:00 PM America/Los Angeles (GMT-08:00)

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Theodore Talk -- Sweet Home: The Storied History of Chicago Blues

Virtual meeting

No group assigned

Jacob Schulz, blues musician and historian, will discuss the current challenges facing the blues, including its fading mainstream presence and efforts to preserve its legacy for future generations. This talk will not only highlight the deep historical roots of the blues but also showcase how it continues to resonate as a timeless and influential art form today.

Starts
 May 25, 2025
 2:30 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

Ends
 May 25, 2025
 4:00 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

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Some M-Chanted Evening: An Adults-Only Nerd Prom

Local Group Meeting

Cleveland Area Mensa

Step into the spotlight at Some M-Chanted Evening, an adults-only prom!

Ladies and gentlemen, get ready to relive the glamour and glitz of the Golden Age of Hollywood at our exclusive adults-only, Old-Hollywood themed prom! Join us for an unforgettable evening of elegance, where you can dine, dance, and play the night away in true Hollywood style.

Starts
 May 31, 2025
 5:00 PM US/Eastern (GMT-05:00)

Ends
 June 1, 2025
 10:00 PM US/Eastern (GMT-05:00)

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After Prom at Cedar Point

Local Group Meeting

Cleveland Area Mensa

What's a prom without an after party?

We invite all of our out-of-town guests (and all of our locals) to join us for a day at Cedar Point amusement park to enjoy one of the best attractions that the greater Cleveland area has to offer!

Starts
 June 1, 2025
 10:00 AM US/Eastern (GMT-05:00)

Ends
 June 1, 2025
 10:00 PM US/Eastern (GMT-05:00)

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Theodore Talk -- How Corn Changed Itself and Then Changed Everything Else: The Role Agriculture Played in the Early Days of Chicago

Virtual meeting

No group assigned

Thanks to corn, the Midwest was settled faster than any other region in history, and Chicago became immensely influential. From the Chicago Stock Yards to the Chicago Board of Trade, the city changed the way the world did business. However, vampires, whiskey, Henry Ford, time zones, Fritos, and the Chicago Bears are also part of this remarkable story. Cynthia Clampitt, author of Midwest Maize: How Corn Shaped the U.S. Heartland, will present what may prove to be the corniest Theodore Talk ever!

Starts
 June 22, 2025
 2:30 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

Ends
 June 22, 2025
 4:00 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

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Mensa Foundation Colloquium 2025

National Meeting

Join us July 1 in beautiful Chicago for the 2025 Mensa Foundation Annual Colloquium, Human Intelligence in the Age of AI: A New Perspective. Registration starts Nov. 1.

Starts
 July 1, 2025
 1:00 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

Ends
 July 1, 2025
 5:00 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

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American Mensa Annual Gathering 2025

National Meeting

Join us for Annual Gathering 2025 as we light up Chicago, July 2-6! Registration starts Nov. 1.

Starts
 July 2, 2025
 9:00 AM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

Ends
 July 6, 2025
 12:00 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

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American Mensa Committee Meeting

Committee Meeting

A meeting of the American Mensa Committee will be held at the Annual Gathering in Chicago on Thursday, July 3, starting at 10 a.m., Central time.

Starts
 July 3, 2025

Ends
 July 3, 2025

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Theodore Talk -- Free Speech Opportunist: Elon Musk's Degradation of the Town Square

Virtual meeting

No group assigned

Professor Stephen Wolgast, Knight Chair in Audience and Community Engagement for News and professor of the practice of journalism at the University of Kansas, will demonstrate how the man who calls himself a free-speech absolutist places a higher value on the dollar than others' ideas, and show how the notion that X is a town square fails on a number of counts.

Starts
 July 27, 2025
 2:30 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

Ends
 July 27, 2025
 4:00 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

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PANDEMIC 2025.... SPACE: The Final Fun-tier!

Regional Gathering

Metropolitan Washington Mensa

Starts
 August 8, 2025
 3:00 PM US/Eastern (GMT-05:00)

Ends
 August 10, 2025
 2:00 PM US/Eastern (GMT-05:00)

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Theodore Talk -- Spotting the Signs & Preventing Child Sex Trafficking

Virtual meeting

No group assigned

This Theodore Talk will focus on how children are lured into the dark world of sex trafficking and exploitation. Attendees will identify the dangers of technology, including strategies used by child predators, discover how to identify a child in trouble and learn some best practices on how to be a child's trusted adult or a trusted child advocate.

Starts
 August 24, 2025
 2:30 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

Ends
 August 24, 2025
 4:00 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

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American Mensa Committee Meeting

Committee Meeting

A meeting of the American Mensa Committee will be held at the National Office in Hurst, TX, Sept. 13, starting at 10 a.m., Central time.

Starts
 September 13, 2025
 10:00 AM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

Ends
 September 13, 2025
 5:00 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

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Theodore Talk -- Antisemitism: Evolution and Escalation

Virtual meeting

No group assigned

Dr. Shelly Cline, Historian and Director of Education at the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education, will examine the evolution of antisemitism from religiously motivated antipathy in early modern times to the economic and pseudo-scientific antisemitism of the 19th and 20th centuries, and finally to the politically driven antisemitism of today.

Starts
 September 28, 2025
 2:30 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

Ends
 September 28, 2025
 4:00 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

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Theodore Talk -- U.S. First Ladies: More Than the Women Behind the Men

Virtual meeting

No group assigned

Dr. Diana B. Carlin, Professor Emerita of Communication at Saint Louis University and co-author of Remember the FIRST Ladies: The Legacies of America's History-Making Women, will take you behind the scenes in the Washingtons' President's House and the White House and inform you how these women helped make history.

Starts
 October 26, 2025
 2:30 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

Ends
 October 26, 2025
 4:00 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

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American Mensa Committee Meeting

Committee Meeting

A virtual meeting of the American Mensa Committee will be held on Saturday, Dec. 6, starting at 10 a.m., Central time.

Starts
 December 6, 2025
 10:00 AM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

Ends
 December 6, 2025
 5:00 PM US/Central (GMT-06:00)

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Party at Sea in Southeast Asia

Multi-Day Meeting

Starts
 February 24, 2026
 12:00 PM Asia/Hong Kong (GMT+08:00)

Ends
 March 10, 2026
 1:00 AM Asia/Hong Kong (GMT+08:00)

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