The MWM Youth SIG is a special interest group comprised of the youngest members of the Metropolitan Washington, D.C. Mensa chapter. Youth SIG was created to provide Mensa youth ages 4-12 with opportunities to interact with their intellectual peers and participate in activities that cultivate their innate talents. Since its founding in the fall of 2017, Youth SIG has provided monthly STEM-based and other cultural activities throughout each school year. The Youth SIG has continued to meet virtually throughout the pandemic allowing our members to maintain their connections to their peer group and engage in fun, interactive learning experiences together. 

Here is a short list of prior monthly Youth SIG pre-pandemic outings and recent virtual activities:

  • Studied weather phenomenon at the National Oceanic Atmospheric Association (NOAA)
  • Engaged in a virtual animal adaptation workshop with the Harvard Natural History Museum
  • Attended a dendrochronology workshop at the Alexandria Archaeology Museum
  • Solved the case of a mysterious epidemic in a virtual simulation with Liberty Science Center
  • Contemplated the complexities of infinity in a workshop with mathematicians at Mason Experimental Geometry Lab (MEGL)
  • Participated in a virtual workshop on genetics and learned how geneticists interpret laboratory results and diagnose and treat diseases
  • Conducted a virtual study of the ruins of Pompeii with a world-renowned archaeologist from the University of Oregon
  • Gained skills and strategies to tackle public speaking and engagement with Highest Speak
  • Conducted experiments in thermodynamics with a scientist from American University
  • Visited the Inventors Hall of Fame at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Headquarters
  • Excavated fossils and relics at an active dig site with paleontologists at Dinosaur Park
  • Conducted experiments to identify GMOs in agriculture with scientists at the Indianapolis Children’s Museum

Future events can be found below and in the Calendar of Events section of the Capital M monthly newsletter. If you have questions about this group or wish to be added to the group’s email list, please contact Youth SIG co-founders Renita Ford and Rasheda McKinney at MWMYouthSIG@gmail.com.

Upcoming Virtual Events: (see the Capital M for times and details)

April 10 — Financial Literacy Workshop for Future Investors and Entrepreneurs

May 14 — Fairy Tale Forensics with the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis

(TBD) — Immersive Language Experience with the Planet Word Museum

July through August — Summer Break!

Please check back in late summer for the first event of the program year! We look forward to seeing everyone in the fall!!