If you are a new, long-time, or prospective member, the Tour of the Institute will orient you to our building, include an overview of our history and mission, and outline our current services and the benefits of membership.
Discuss Tropic of Capricorn by Henry Miller with fellow members.
Our hybrid meetings take place in the 4th Floor Board Room at Mechanics' Institute and virtually on Zoom.
Current Drop-In Hours:
Join authors Steve Wasserman and Gary Kamiya in conversation on Wasserman's latest book, Tell Me Something, Tell Me Anything, Even If It's a Lie.
Current Drop-In Hours:
Current Drop-In Hours:
Set in 1968, Coming Home premiered three years after the fall of Saigon. Two veterans return, both deeply wounded but in different ways.
If you are a new, long-time, or prospective member, the Tour of the Institute will orient you to our building, include an overview of our history and mission, and outline our current services and the benefits of membership.
Take a deep dive into design with this discussion group, presented in partnership with North Atlantic Books and the Stanford d.school. This gathering will feature the designers Aida Miriam Davis, Quinlin Messenger, and Lesley-Ann Noel in an introductory roundtable (6:00-6:45 pm PT) before transitioning into an informal discussion (6:45-7:30 pm PT).
This book group meets online via Zoom.
Current Drop-In Hours:
Join author and historian Iris Jamahl Dunkle in conversation on her latest book, Riding Like the Wind: The Life of Sanora Babb.
Current Drop-In Hours:
Current Drop-In Hours:
We welcome back renowned Bay Area author Maxine Hong Kingston, along with new guests Aimee Phan, Kathryn Ma, and moderator Mina Kim, to commemorate Lunar New Year.
These docent talks provide education and enrichment opportunities about the plays that Berkeley Rep presents each season.
If you are a new, long-time, or prospective member, the Tour of the Institute will orient you to our building, include an overview of our history and mission, and outline our current services and the benefits of membership.
This event is held onsite and continues the the cycle with Marcel Proust's The Prisoner and The Fugitive. Sessions held on 1st and 3rd Wednesdays, between February 5-June 18, 2025 from 5:30-6:30pm.
Current Drop-In Hours:
Join author and journalist Sasha Vasilyuk in conversation with New York Times journalist Steven Lee Myers on the legacy of secrecy and misinformation in Russia and Ukraine.
Current Drop-In Hours:
Join the Chess Room for Chess Socials on the first Friday of each month.
Current Drop-In Hours:
Based on a novel by William Faulkner, Intruder in the Dust centers on a black man in Mississippi accused of killing a white man.
Discuss An Elderly Lady is Up To No Good by Helene Tursten with fellow members. Brown Bag Mystery Readers (BBMR) is a member-led Book Group meeting every second Monday onsite in the 4th Floor Board Room at Mechanics' Institute.
If you are a new, long-time, or prospective member, the Tour of the Institute will orient you to our building, include an overview of our history and mission, and outline our current services and the benefits of membership.
Discuss The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann with fellow members.
Our hybrid meetings take place in the 4th Floor Board Room at Mechanics' Institute and virtually on Zoom.
Current Drop-In Hours:
Join bestselling authors Caro de Robertis and R.O. Kwon for an electric Valentine’s Day conversation on the power of desire in writing.
Current Drop-In Hours:
Current Drop-In Hours:
During a whirlwind courtship, a young woman brings her fiancé home to meet the parents. But she’s white and he’s black, and her upper middle-class parents’ liberal values are put to the test.
Celebrate Toni Morrison's birthday with luminaries whose work furthers the legacy of the literary giant.
This international event will be gathering online via Zoom.
If you are a new, long-time, or prospective member, the Tour of the Institute will orient you to our building, include an overview of our history and mission, and outline our current services and the benefits of membership.
Food is far more than sustenance—it is a repository of identity, a marker of history, and a subtle yet potent instrument of power. Join celebrated authors Anna Voloshyna (BUDMO: Recipes from a Ukrainian Kitchen) and Kate Leahy (Lavash: The Bread That Launched 1,000 Meals) for an engaging conversation on the intricate connections between cuisine and politics.
Current Drop-In Hours:
Current Drop-In Hours:
Current Drop-In Hours:
While most noirs have lover’s jealousy or greed as criminal motivation, Crossfire’s plot engine is fueled by anti-Semitism.
These docent talks provide education and enrichment opportunities about the plays that Berkeley Rep presents each season.
Mechanics' Institute cordially invites you to the premiere of Game Night, nestled within the enchanting surroundings in our library on the second floor. For this gathering, we celebrate the The Royal Game of Ur — one of the oldest board games in history!
If you are a new, long-time, or prospective member, the Tour of the Institute will orient you to our building, include an overview of our history and mission, and outline our current services and the benefits of membership.
Discuss The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann with fellow members.
Our hybrid meetings take place in the 4th Floor Board Room at Mechanics' Institute and virtually on Zoom.
Current Drop-In Hours:
Current Drop-In Hours:
Current Drop-In Hours:
Broken Arrow is now seen as the progenitor of revisionist westerns such as Little Big Man, The Outlaw Josey Wales, and Dances With Wolves.
If you are a new, long-time, or prospective member, the Tour of the Institute will orient you to our building, include an overview of our history and mission, and outline our current services and the benefits of membership.
Current Drop-In Hours:
Current Drop-In Hours:
Join the Chess Room for Chess Socials on the first Friday of each month.
Current Drop-In Hours:
Discuss Woodworm by Layla Martínez with fellow members. Brown Bag Mystery Readers (BBMR) is a member-led Book Group meeting every second Monday onsite in the 4th Floor Board Room at Mechanics' Institute.
If you are a new, long-time, or prospective member, the Tour of the Institute will orient you to our building, include an overview of our history and mission, and outline our current services and the benefits of membership.
Discuss The Country Girls by Edna O'Brien with fellow members.
Our hybrid meetings take place in the 4th Floor Board Room at Mechanics' Institute and virtually on Zoom.
Current Drop-In Hours:
Current Drop-In Hours:
Current Drop-In Hours:
Music at Mechanics' welcomes the Aris Quartet for a beautiful night of music in our historic library space.
If you are a new, long-time, or prospective member, the Tour of the Institute will orient you to our building, include an overview of our history and mission, and outline our current services and the benefits of membership.
Current Drop-In Hours:
Current Drop-In Hours:
If you are a new, long-time, or prospective member, the Tour of the Institute will orient you to our building, include an overview of our history and mission, and outline our current services and the benefits of membership.
Discuss A Girl Returned by Donatella Di Pietrantorio with fellow members.
Our hybrid meetings take place in the 4th Floor Board Room at Mechanics' Institute and virtually on Zoom.
Current Drop-In Hours:
Current Drop-In Hours:
If you are a new, long-time, or prospective member, the Tour of the Institute will orient you to our building, include an overview of our history and mission, and outline our current services and the benefits of membership.
Current Drop-In Hours:
Join the Chess Room for Chess Socials on the first Friday of each month.
Current Drop-In Hours:
These docent talks provide education and enrichment opportunities about the plays that Berkeley Rep presents each season.
If you are a new, long-time, or prospective member, the Tour of the Institute will orient you to our building, include an overview of our history and mission, and outline our current services and the benefits of membership.
Discuss The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy with fellow members.
Our hybrid meetings take place in the 4th Floor Board Room at Mechanics' Institute and virtually on Zoom.
Current Drop-In Hours:
Current Drop-In Hours:
Discuss The Fleur de Sel Murders by Jean-Luc Bannalec with fellow members. Brown Bag Mystery Readers (BBMR) is a member-led Book Group meeting every second Monday onsite in the 4th Floor Board Room at Mechanics' Institute.
If you are a new, long-time, or prospective member, the Tour of the Institute will orient you to our building, include an overview of our history and mission, and outline our current services and the benefits of membership.
Current Drop-In Hours:
Current Drop-In Hours:
If you are a new, long-time, or prospective member, the Tour of the Institute will orient you to our building, include an overview of our history and mission, and outline our current services and the benefits of membership.
Discuss The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy with fellow members.
Our hybrid meetings take place in the 4th Floor Board Room at Mechanics' Institute and virtually on Zoom.
Current Drop-In Hours:
Current Drop-In Hours:
If you are a new, long-time, or prospective member, the Tour of the Institute will orient you to our building, include an overview of our history and mission, and outline our current services and the benefits of membership.
Current Drop-In Hours:
Join the Chess Room for Chess Socials on the first Friday of each month.
These docent talks provide education and enrichment opportunities about the plays that Berkeley Rep presents each season.
If you are a new, long-time, or prospective member, the Tour of the Institute will orient you to our building, include an overview of our history and mission, and outline our current services and the benefits of membership.
Discuss The Chill by Ross MacDonald with fellow members. Brown Bag Mystery Readers (BBMR) is a member-led Book Group meeting every second Monday onsite in the 4th Floor Board Room at Mechanics' Institute.
If you are a new, long-time, or prospective member, the Tour of the Institute will orient you to our building, include an overview of our history and mission, and outline our current services and the benefits of membership.
Discuss Morning and Evening by Jon Fosse with fellow members.
Our hybrid meetings take place in the 4th Floor Board Room at Mechanics' Institute and virtually on Zoom.
If you are a new, long-time, or prospective member, the Tour of the Institute will orient you to our building, include an overview of our history and mission, and outline our current services and the benefits of membership.
If you are a new, long-time, or prospective member, the Tour of the Institute will orient you to our building, include an overview of our history and mission, and outline our current services and the benefits of membership.
Discuss Rashomon and Seventeen Other Stories by Ryunosuke Akutagawa with fellow members.
Our hybrid meetings take place in the 4th Floor Board Room at Mechanics' Institute and virtually on Zoom.
If you are a new, long-time, or prospective member, the Tour of the Institute will orient you to our building, include an overview of our history and mission, and outline our current services and the benefits of membership.
Join the Chess Room for Chess Socials on the first Friday of each month.
Discuss Dead Letters from Paradise by Ann McMan with fellow members. Brown Bag Mystery Readers (BBMR) is a member-led Book Group meeting every second Monday onsite in the 4th Floor Board Room at Mechanics' Institute.
If you are a new, long-time, or prospective member, the Tour of the Institute will orient you to our building, include an overview of our history and mission, and outline our current services and the benefits of membership.
If you are a new, long-time, or prospective member, the Tour of the Institute will orient you to our building, include an overview of our history and mission, and outline our current services and the benefits of membership.
If you are a new, long-time, or prospective member, the Tour of the Institute will orient you to our building, include an overview of our history and mission, and outline our current services and the benefits of membership.
Join the Chess Room for Chess Socials on the first Friday of each month.
If you are a new, long-time, or prospective member, the Tour of the Institute will orient you to our building, include an overview of our history and mission, and outline our current services and the benefits of membership.
Discuss The Lost Man by Jane Harper with fellow members. Brown Bag Mystery Readers (BBMR) is a member-led Book Group meeting every second Monday onsite in the 4th Floor Board Room at Mechanics' Institute.
If you are a new, long-time, or prospective member, the Tour of the Institute will orient you to our building, include an overview of our history and mission, and outline our current services and the benefits of membership.
