March 14 marks Pi Day, an annual celebration of the mathematical sign pi which was founded in 1988 by physicist Larry Shaw. March 14 was selected because the numeral date (3.14) represents the first three digits of pi and it also happens to be Albert Einstein’s birthday-the perfect pi-incidence.
One of the reasons Pi is special is because it’s involved in many common formulae, such as the area of a circle (Pi*r^3) and the value of a sphere (4/3 Pi*r^3). From an early age, we learn that for any circle with radius r and diameter d=2r, the circumference is Pi*d and the area is Pi*r^2.
Pi Day With Professor Jules Albertini
At SUNY Ulster, Pi Day is Professor Jules Albertini and his students’ favorite day. “All those that appreciate any level of mathematics and science love the number Pi. Even though, no matter how hard we try, we can only ‘taste’ a finite piece of it. I am so happy that our culture celebrates such a useful and mysterious number (even with the constant irrational behavior!), says Professor Albertini. Have fun watching Jules on Pi Day!
Fun Ways to Celebrate Pi Day
- Eat Pi Foods: A celebration without food is not a celebration. On this day, have students eat foods that start with “Pi”. Pizza and pineapples, or pineapples on the top of the pizza are other examples of Pi foods.
- Bake Pies: Have students bake pies in the shape of the pi symbol. If you are not much of a baker, don’t worry. An ugly pie can still be an edible pie. A few ideas include mini pi-shaped pies, pi-shaped turnovers, and baking a pizza pie with pepperoni in the shape of the pie symbol.
- Classroom Pi Day Workout: After consuming all that Pi-shaped food, a workout to burn off some calories may not be a bad idea. So start with the number three and work your way through the digits of Pi.
- Pi Day Scavenger Hunt: Have a scavenger hunt by hiding Pi-related clues around the school and allowing students to search for them. Clues can be 3 markers, 1 notebook, 4 folders.
- The Form of Pi: Have the students line up outside in a field or oval. The students should form the Pi symbol. Take an overhead of it. This can be a great Pi day event.
- Pi Contests: Hold a relay race that requires students to run from station to station. In order to proceed, they must answer a piece of Pi trivia. Another idea is to have a contest to see how many words can be made that start with ‘Pi’. The winner can take home an actual pie.
- Hold a Pi Day Run: It’s a great way to get your community involved in the celebration. Be sure that the run is 3.14 miles in that there is a prize for the winner. Prizes can include a few pies and a medal of some sort that represents Pi day.
How Did We Come to Celebrate Pi Day?
In 1988, the earliest known or large-scale celebration of Pi Day was organized by Larry Shaw at the San Francisco Exploratorium where Shaw worked as a physicist, with staff and public marching around one of its circular spaces, then consuming fruit pies. And, the Exploratorium continues to hold Pi Day celebrations.
On March 12, 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a non-binding resolution (111 H. Res. 224), recognizing March 14, 2009, as National Pi Day.
The entire month of March 2014 (3/14) was observed by some as ‘Pi Month’. In 2015, March 14 was celebrated as “Super Pi Day”. It had special significance as the date is written as 3/14/15 in month/day/year format. At 9;26;53, the date and time together represented the first 10 digits of Pi, and later that second Pi instant represented all of Pi digits.
Go eat some Pi today!
