10 Pi Day Activities
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March 14, Albert Einstein’s birthday, also marks the world-wide celebration of the number Pi π.
Why?
3-14 is how we write March 14 in the States.
3.14 is Pi!
So cool, right?
Pi Day Activities
(If you need a quick refresher, to get the area of a circle, measure the circle’s radius, square it, and multiply it by Pi. Area = π x r2 )
Pi is an irrational number. It’s digits never end OR repeat in a pattern. Here are the first 100 digits of Pi: 3.1415926535 8979323846 2643383279 5028841971 6939937510 5820974944 5923078164 0628620899 8628034825 3421170679.
(Pi is also the 16th letter of the Greek alphabet.)
1. Read Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi by Cindy Neuschwander.
2. Memorize as many digits as you can in Pi. Winner gets a pie!
3. Make a color-coded pi bracelet or necklace. Do as many digits as you can.
4. Pi(e) party! Find the area of a pie. Then enjoy your tasty treat.
5. Pie wars. Have a pie contest. Who can bake the most delicious pie?
6. Draw the Pi symbol and decorate it with stickers or markers.(π)
7. Graph Pi to make a cityscape – a beautiful idea from What Do We Do All Day.
8. Memorize this trick to help you remember the digits of Pi: “May I have a large container of butter today.” Count the letters in each word and you’ll find: 3 1 4 1 5 9 2 6 5.
9. Find the approximate value for Pi by splitting up a circle and reassembling as a rectangle. Directions on Math Is Fun.
10. Tell Pi jokes and riddles. Here are some to get you started:
Did you know that 3.14% of all sailors are Pi rates?
Q:What do you get when you take the sun and divide its circumference by its diameter?
A: Pi in the sky.
Whatever you do, don’t talk to Pi. He goes on forever!
Thanks for sharing these ideas. We are raising a little math geek and very excited about Pi day. We had a saying in Russian to memorize Pi number. I didn’t know that there is an English mnemonic phrase as well until now. Russian is a little longer though 😀
I can imagine! 🙂
Natalie,
What is the Russian saying to memorize Pi number? I’ve never heard it.
I would love to share it with my kids. Thank you for sharing.
Eto ya znayu i pomnyu prekrasno, no lishnie znaki mne lishni naprasno 🙂
Wow! Great! Thank you so much!
Learn something new every day! 😉
Thanks again!