Linda in Northfield, Mensagenda Editor
About Mensagenda
Minnesota Mensa published Vol. I, No. 1 of our newsletter, then called the Minnesota Mensa, in June of 1965. Approaching six decades later and winning awards along the way, we continue to provide a monthly publication, now called Mensagenda.
As expected in a newsletter, we inform our local membership with organizational updates and provide details about our events. The real benefit is that, just like our events, Mensagenda is for our members, by our members.
The love of learning in Mensa is not just about supporting our scholarship but in enriching your own mind and sharing your knowledge, skills, and interests. Read articles and regular columns ranging from scientific explanations to humor in everyday life. Check out our members’ photography, drawing, painting, knitting and quilting, and crafting skills.
What would you like to share? Do you have expertise in a particular field of study or hobby? Want to express your opinion? Have you traveled recently? Do you write poetry? Can you create word games, numerical puzzles, or trivia questions? What could you say about…well, you get the picture.
Mensagenda is another way that Minnesota Mensa provides “a stimulating intellectual and social environment for its members.” What could you contribute if you joined Mensa?
There’s More to Read
Mensa membership provides access to the publications from other chapters, American Mensa, and Mensa International. Click here to learn more.
Featured Cover Art
Gooseberry Falls. Photo by Don in Waconia.
Vantage Point: History Judging
by James in Saint Paul
One of my favorite activities each year is participating as a state-level judge for National History Day. The annual competition has a junior division for students in sixth through eighth grade and a senior division for high schoolers. Students can compete individually or in small groups. Categories include research papers, exhibit displays, documentaries, websites, and — beginning this year — podcasts. My favorite entries, however, are performances. In this category, students write 10-minute historical dramas, submit annotated bibliographies and process papers about their work, and then perform their plays live in front of judges. Relatives, friends, and even the general public can attend.
To commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the History Day theme for 2026 was “Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History.” With that in mind, I expected most of this year’s entries to focus on war or political unrest. Instead, more than half of the historical plays I saw centered on scientific topics, including citizen science in the Audubon Society, patent disputes over the iron lung machine, and the ethics of informed consent in early gynecology. I have a master’s degree in the history of science and technology and also spent much of my career working at science museums. As a result, I liked seeing that so many students shared my enthusiasm for science. Nevertheless, I had to keep my personal interests from biasing my judgment.
At each round of the state competition, I worked on a team with two different judges. Since I had more experience with performances than some of my peers, I was able to answer many of their questions about the evaluation criteria. For example, I reassured my teammates that it was officially OK if students read directly from a script, but we certainly could give higher scores to those who memorized their lines. (Most did.) The 10-minute time limit, on the other hand, was strict: one play that ran 14 minutes long was disqualified.
After each performance, judges had time to briefly interview the students. Even though historical research and accuracy made up 80% of the judging criteria, this year I focused my questions on the 20% of the criteria that covered students’ artistic vision. I asked, for example, about their decision-making process regarding wardrobe changes, props, and staging scenes. The students seemed to appreciate this opportunity to describe their creative choices in developing their projects.
When the time came to make final decisions, I took extra care this year to ask my colleagues for their perspectives before offering my own. While I often have strong opinions as a History Day judge, I have blind spots too. By showing more openness than I have in the past, I did a better job reaching a consensus with my teammates than I have in previous years. It’s nice to know that I might be getting wiser with age. At the end of the state competition, finalists advanced to nationals at the University of Maryland on June 18, 2026. The History Day theme for 2027 will be “Innovation in History: Impact, Influence, Change.” I’m looking forward to seeing next year’s entries.