Many people don’t know that on 14th March, beside the White Valentine’s Day, there is another holiday we can also celebrate on this day: National Pi(e) Day.
What is Pi?
In mathematics, the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, or pi, is denoted by the Greek letter “π” which is approximately 3.14159. Pi Day is an annual chance for math aficionados to repeat the endless digits of Pi, chat to their friends about arithmetic, and eat pie.
Almost 50 trillion trillion digits beyond its decimal point have been used to calculate pi. It will go on forever without repetition or pattern since it is an irrational and transcendental number. While most computations only require a few digits, pi’s infinite nature makes it a pleasant challenge to remember and computationally calculate ever-increasing numbers.
National Pi(e) day history:
A scientist at the San Francisco Exploratorium organized what is believed to be the first formal Pi(e) Day celebration on March 14 (or 3/14 in U.S. date format) in 1988, which cleverly featured the consumption of fruit pies. The idea of educating children about pi as they ate pie soon gained popularity among math instructors, and in 2009 the U.S.
Ways to celebrate Pi(e) Day:
Congress formally proclaimed March 14 as National Pi(e) Day. Here’s how to make your party a teaching opportunity.
Eat Pi(e) food
A party wouldn’t be a celebration without food. Have kids consume items that begin with “Pi” on this day. Why not begin by making pie? Apple pie, pineapples pie, cherry pie,… Some examples of Pi meals are pizza with pineapples or pineapples on top of pizza. Before students consume the pizza pies and ordinary pies, you might take it a step further and ask them to measure the diameter and circumference of the pizzas. In this manner, youngsters may eat while still studying. It’s a win-win
Bake Pi(e)
Ask kids to create pies that are shaped like the number Pi. Don’t worry if you’re not an expert baker. Even the most unattractive pie may be consumed. Pi-shaped turnovers, small pies, and a pizza pie baked with pepperoni or cookies in the shape of the pi sign are a few examples. Like pi, there are many alternatives. You may host a pie-eating competition or a fundraising event when the baking is finished.
Students may donate to charity while honing their math and multitasking abilities by participating in fundraisers. So either bake some pies and sell them to the professors and students, or bake some pies and donate them to a homeless shelter. Keep in mind to set a $3.14 price if you decide to sell them. You may also bake cookies in the form of the sign for Pi if you’re not a fan of pies.
Make art that is related to Pi(e)
Students may display their creativity while concurrently studying arithmetic by creating art. With the addition of some clever Pi puns, students may create Pi-lentines, which are gratitude notes for the individuals they value the most.
Students can also express their creativity by creating a bar graph of the digits of Pi on a sheet of graph paper using markers or crayons. They should keep doing this until the paper begins to resemble a city skyline. Invite children to color in their structures and the sky when they have finished graphing their skyline.