Today there are some 100,000 Mensans in 100 countries throughout the world. There are active Mensa organizations in over 50 countries on every continent except Antarctica.
Mensa meetings are anything but dull! Many local groups meet at least monthly for dinner and drinks on a Friday night, sometimes featuring a speaker, or a lively, freewheeling discussion with fellow Mensans who share their intellectual interests. Some groups have special get-togethers or activities throughout the month. Others, especially the larger groups, have events on practically every day. Of course, participation in group activities is always entirely at your option. There’s also widely attended annual conventions offering workshops, seminars, and parties. Plus, numerous regional gatherings are held each year, offering social and intellectual excitement.
Whatever your passion, there’s almost certain to be a Special Interest Group (SIG) filled with other Mensans who share it! Mensa offers approximately 200 SIGs, in mind-boggling profusion from African Violets to zoology. Along the way you’ll find microbiology, and systems analysis, but you’ll also find Sherlock Holmes, chocolate and Star Trek. There’s the expected: biochemistry, space science, economics — and the unexpected: poker, roller-skating, scuba diving, UFOs and witchcraft. There are SIGs for breadmaking, winemaking, cartooning, silversmithing, and clowning. Heraldry, semantics and Egyptology co-exist with beekeeping, motorcycling and tap dancing. Sports SIGs cover the classics (baseball, basketball, and football) and the not so classic (skeet shooting, hang gliding, sky diving). And any Mensan who can’t find a SIG to join can easily start one.
Mensans also find opportunities to contribute to the betterment of society through charitable and volunteer activities within their communities. Many Mensa groups offer scholarships for gifted students. The Gifted Children Resource Program compiles and provides information for gifted children at the national and local levels.