SEMMer Bash – Coming Soon

The annual SEMMer Bash is the time we come out and meet each other over food and games. If you are a new member or you haven’t yet been to a Mensa event, this is a great opportunity to see what Mensa is all about. Our Gifted Youth Coordinator has even prepared a whole day of fun and educational activities for the kids.

NO REGISTRATION NEEDED — IT’S FREE

See the SEMMer Bash page for details.

CultureQuest® XXXI: The Ultimate Trivia Competition

Trivia Logo Game Sporcle Quiz, others transparent background PNG ...If you enjoy the challenge of playing team trivia with questions ranging from film, politics, literature, geography, music, history, etc., this is for you! Get ready for this year’s CultureQuest® XXXI! Teams of American and Canadian Mensans will compete at the same time for 90 minutes for cash prizes and cultural literacy bragging rights. Each Mensan team will gather at one location and may have up to five members. CultureQuest XXXI was originally scheduled for Sunday, May 3, but due to the pandemic, has been tentatively rescheduled for Sunday, October 18. 

The cost to participate is $50 per team. SEMM will pay one-half of the entry fee for any team captained by a SEMM member. 

Deadline to enter is Monday, August 31. To register, go to https://www.us.mensa.org/attend/culturequest/.

SEMMantics 2020 is Cancelled

Today, the SEMM Board and the RG planning team have made the decision to CANCEL SEMMantics 2020. As such, details on full registration refunds will be forthcoming. Please “Save the Date” for SEMMantics 42 – scheduled to take place April 16-18, 2021.

SEMMantics Talk – The Voter Redistricting Overhaul

Susan SmithAs a result of the proposals passed by Michigan voters in 2018, there are massive changes happening in how we can register to vote and how and where we can vote, with three important elections coming up in 2020. Michigan is also in the process of building a completely new way to create voting districts after the 2020 census.

Susan Smith, past president of the Michigan League of Women Voters, will explain all these changes in an educational, nonpartisan presentation you will not want to miss.

Registration is now officially open for this year’s RG, SEMMantics 2020, being held April 17 – 19, 2020.

SEMMantics Talk – Astrobiology, Meteorites and the Early Earth

John ZawiskieJohn Zawiskie, the Curator in Residence and an educator at Cranbrook Institute of Science, whose talk is on “Astrobiology, Meteorites and the Early Earth”, will tell us how meteorites reveal early solar system history back to 4.568 billion years ago (bya). He will discuss how this information suggests a mechanism for the formation of the Earth, and potential sources for water and organic compounds. Evidence for the presence of life from 4.1 to 3.48 bya is reviewed, including subsequent evolutionary developments and Earth system history during the Precambrian.

Mr. Zawiskie specializes in Geology and Paleontology at the Cranbrook Institute and also teaches Earth History at Wayne State University. He has a wide range of interests in education, exhibits, and research, and has participated in ?eld studies in Antarctica, Australia, Argentina, Southwest USA, and the Great Lakes region.

Registration is now officially open for this year’s RG, SEMMantics 2020, being held April 17 – 19, 2020.