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About Tallahassee Area Mensa

Tallahassee Mensa Map Tallahassee Area Mensa was founded back in the 1970s. Our area has changed over the years, we used to include the folks over in Panama City. That was challenging because they are in a different time zone, not to mention a fair distance away. During one of the restructurings, they were logically joined to the Pensacola Mensa group. View larger area map.

Tallahassee Area Mensa is part of Region 10 of American Mensa, which is part of Mensa International. Mensa was formed specifically for (and by) people who have scored above the 98th percentile on any one of over 200 accepted, standardized intelligence tests, including our own admission test.

Mensa's Past

Mensa was originally founded in 1946 in England by Roland Berrill, a barrister and an Australian expatriate, and Dr. Lancelot Lionel (Lance) Ware, who was a scientist and a lawyer. They met by chance on a train and began to correspond with each other about the possibility of forming a club. Their idea was for a society for intelligent people, with the only qualification for membership being a high IQ. The first piece of Mensa literature was printed on October 1, 1946, and Mensa was born. What they hoped to create was a non-political organization that is free of things like racial or religious distinctions. Mensa takes no stand on politics, religion or social issues.

American Mensa began to develop during the 1950s, mostly from expatriated Britons who learned about Mensa when they would return to visit their mother country. One such man was a reporter who wrote an article about Mensa in The Village Voice. That article was read by Peter A. Sturgeon, a medical writer in Brooklyn, New York, and he wrote to the Mensa Selection Agency in England. He became a member in May of 1960 and was then authorized to start forming a New York City regional group. Peter was sent a listing of members residing in America - all 22 of them - and they became the first group to be recognized outside of Britain, American Mensa, Ltd. was born.

By 1963 American Mensa had grown to 1,000 members. By its 40th anniversary in 2000, American Mensa had 47,000 members and the headquarters was moved from New York to Texas. American Mensa now has over 50,000 members and there are currently more than 100,000 members worldwide. Mensa welcomes people from all walks of life, all professions, all socioeconomic classes, all races, all ages - everyone, with the goal of providing a place to enjoy each other's company, wit, conversation, and engage in a wide range of activities. In Mensa you will find young (the youngest member is 4) and old (the oldest is 102), homemakers, teachers, doctors, lawyers, students, people from every professional imaginable. They all share one trait - high intelligence.

What Does Mensa DO?

Mensa has three purposes, which are outlined in its constitution. They are:

  1. To identify and foster human intelligence for the benefit of humanity.
  2. To encourage research into the nature, characteristics and uses of intelligence.
  3. To provide a stimulating intellectual and social environment for its members.

Project InkslingerIf you are looking for community service, Mensa can help there as well. The Mensa Education and Research Foundation sponsors scholarships, participates in research, rewards excellence in gifted research and publishes the Mensa Research Journal. Our Gifted Children Resource Program provides information on gifted children and gifted children resources to inquiring parents, teachers and schools. Project Inkslinger® started when the Mississippi and its tributaries flooded parts of the Midwest and South. Several schools and libraries lost their entire collections to water damage. American Mensans helped replace these books and continue to help libraries and schools in need and continue similar efforts today.

Mensa also gives perks to its members in the way of special discounts, auto and health insurance, and travel benefits. Those are just extras you can pursue if you wish. There are also more than 150 "SIGs" - special interest groups - available to join. The one perk just about every member gets to enjoy is the mental workout and stimulation and fun of spending time with other people who have high intelligence - we get your jokes.

Tallahassee Mensa Map

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Mensa® and the Mensa logo (as depicted for example in U.S. TM Reg. No. 1,405,381) are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by American Mensa, Ltd., and are registered in other countries by Mensa International Limited and/or affiliated national Mensa organizations. Mensa does not hold any opinions, or have, or express, any political or religious views.