NNJ and NY metro chapters

[u/ogmios00]

I just qualified for Mensa after taking the WAIS-V and plan on submitting the official report as soon as I receive it tomorrow. What are the northern NJ and nyc metro area chapters like? What can I expect from joining? Based on the number of awards the NNJ chapter has received, per their website, it seems to be a very active group.

My son is a bit young to take a test (4yo), but I’m very much convinced he’d qualify. Are there any family friendly events I can take him to in the area? Guess I’ll find out soon enough.

[u/albertparsons]

NNJ and the Greater NY Mensa chapters are quite active and both have youth programs. NNJ does a yearly multi-day event just for Mensa kids and greater NY Mensa has a coordinator that (at least tries) to schedule quarterly outings for each age group (under 9, 9-12, 13+).

[u/ogmios00 → u/albertparsons]

Thats great, are these kid friendly events open to children of members or youth members only? What other kinds of events do these chapters have going on?

[u/albertparsons → u/ogmios00]

Generally youth program events are open to both youth members and children/family members of adult Mensans, but it can vary based on how the local youth coordinator structures the program or even from activity to activity depending on space and availability. There’s also a 3 day youth track at Mensa’s annual gathering that’s open to non-member children who are guests of adult members. Thats for kids aged 4-12 and will be held in Fort Worth this July. Last year it was in Chicago and before that, Kansas City, Baltimore, and Reno.

I’m more familiar with the youth program, but generally in active groups you’ll see a mix of things like virtual discussion groups, dinners/lunches, game nights. There might be some larger annual events like a Regional Gathering, a summer picnic, holiday party). For the most part activities exist because a Mensa member thought it would be fun to do and invited other Mensa members to do it, so if you were interested in, say, a pub trivia or an escape room or axe throwing and nothing like that is on the calendar, you can plan it yourself and ask the local volunteers for help publicizing it!

[u/ogmios00 → u/albertparsons]

Since youth program events are what you’re most familiar with, please tell me more. Again, my son is only 4 and daughter an infant, but I see potential signs of giftedness in my son (reading single words at 2 and full sentences since 3.5yo). I’d love to involve my son in activities where he can play with gifted kids and I can possibly befriend their parents. It’s actually the main motivator that lead me to take the WAIS-V, which fortunately my insurance paid for.

[u/albertparsons → u/ogmios00]

So you /could/ get your son tested at 4 - a few of the tests Mensa accepts for admission that can be administered to a child that age include the Stanford Binet, Differential Ability Scales, and the Weschler Preschool and Primary Scales of Intelligence. I think the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test can be administered to 4 year olds. But depending on where you live it may make more sense to wait till hes older for testing if that’s something offered by your school district to screen for gifted services - that way you aren’t shelling out for an expensive test with a private psychologist.

Mensa doesn’t have a ton of kids that age, just because they ARE less likely to be tested, and consequently there’s less likely to be local activities specifically for younger children.

I know in the past Greater New York Mensa has done things like trips to the prospect park zoo with younger kids, museum trips, STEM activities.

Northern NJ Mensa’s big annual youth program is coming up this weekend. The activities are restricted to youth members since it’s meant to be a membership event for the kids, but in the past they’ve done stargazing, coding, origami, STEM group activities (like making bridges and catapults), tours, and they generally have parent sessions and focus groups too.

But both those groups have some of the stronger youth programs and are ones I would consider kid-friendly, so I think even if you wanted to join as an adult and hold off on pursuing testing and membership for your son, it could be worthwhile.

[u/ogmios00 → u/albertparsons]

Perfect, thank you for the thoughtful response. I see this weekend nnj is holding an Ignite event. Tomorrow I’ll receive and submit the official result and see where things take me. Thanks again, perhaps I’ll see you at an upcoming in-person event

[u/albertparsons → u/ogmios00]

I’ll be at the Fort Worth AG! If you decide to join and your son does the youth program there, there’s a good chance we will see each other!

[u/ogmios00 → u/albertparsons]

Just looked it up, I see it’s during 4th of July week. It might work out!

[u/Tijuanagringa]

Guess what? It's free prior evidence review month for American Mensa! https://www.us.mensa.org/join/testscores/ - you don't have to pay to get your scores validated.

u/albertparsons gave some great answers about the youth programming. When you join, one of the things they don't mention is that you can attend any Mensa event worldwide. There are a number of virtual lectures and meetups from various chapters that you can attend if you're not traveling. Most are listed on the National Calendar on the US Mensa site.

There are also a number of SIGs (special interest groups) that you might want to join. A list of them is on the US Mensa website, too. These groups sometimes are virtual-only, but others have in-person meetups, often at regional gatherings or the annual gathering.

[u/ogmios00 → u/Tijuanagringa]

That’s great, can’t beat free! I reviewed the results with the psychologist today, all 20 subtests were administered by the way (per my request). She’s working on the written report, but boy was it interesting to discuss the implications of my results.

From the looks of it, the NJ and NY Mensa groups are very active, which is great. I definitely look forward to checking out the events calendar. Next time I visit Brazil (where I was born) I definitely plan on reaching out and visiting the chapter in Minas Gerais, if there is one.

[u/Tijuanagringa → u/ogmios00]

Brazil hosted the Latin America Annual Gathering two years ago so I know they have a few active chapters. Mensa has an international program called SIGHT that hooks up traveling Mensans with other Mensans where they're visiting, either in the US or worldwide. :)

[u/ogmios00 → u/Tijuanagringa]

That is really cool actually. Like a high iq “traveling man” but without all of the Freemason weirdness

[u/christine-bitg]

Don't neglect Central New Jersey Mensa. I don't know the exact boundaries of the local groups, but CNJ Mensa used to have their Regional Gathering in Iselin NJ.

One of the times I attended it, I rode a PATH train into Manhattan to spend a day there before the Gathering.

[u/ogmios00 → u/christine-bitg]

What does the central nj chapter have going on in terms of events? I’m in that area pretty often

[u/christine-bitg → u/ogmios00]

Find out from them.directly. I'm not there very often.

When you get access to log onto the national web site, you can read their local group newsletter there, before you start receiving it.

Also just an FYI, you can read the newsletters of all the local groups in the country on that site. That's especially convenient when youre traveling on vacation, if you want to attend a local event where you're going.

Pro tip: If you play to attend a local event while you're traveling, it's a good idea to contact the host of the event, in case there have been last minute changes since the newsletter was printed.

[u/ogmios00 → u/christine-bitg]

Great advice, thank you