San Fransisco's Exploratorium began celebrating Pi Day, a now international "Geek" holiday, in 1987. Learn about Pi, what Pi day is, and hands-on ideas to teach your students the value of Pi in a way that will help them to never forget.
The Value of Pi
To find the value of Pi, which is approximately 3.14, divide the circumference of a circle by it's diameter. This number is not able to be expressed as a fraction, and the decimal continues ad infinitum. Throughout ancient history, this value has been approximated but has always been an approximation as this decimal never ends. The symbol for Pi is a Greek letter that began to be used as Pi in the 1700s.
What is Pi Day?
Pi day is celebrated on March 14, 1:59 pm. This date and time was chosen specifically in honor of the first six digits of Pi. Each year on Pi day, people come from all over to the San Fransisco Exploratorium where Pi day was created to celebrate by eat apple pie, sing pi songs and bead a pi string that now has 1600 beads and counting.
Larry Shaw, a physicist, first came up with the idea for Pi day. Three years later at a Pi day celebration, Larry's 14 year old daughter commented that this day was also the birthday of Albert Einstein, an added benefit to the celebration. The most important part of Pi day, of course, is the eating of pie.
Lesson Plan Ideas for Pi
At the Exploratorium's home page for Pi Day, there are several great lesson ideas. By going to the page explaining the History of Pi, there is a link to download a PDF form that teaches students how to estimate the value of Pi based on probability. There is also a link to an activity entitled "Discovering Pi" that was adapted from Mary Laycock’s Hands-on Math for Secondary Teachers [Activity Resources Company, Incorporated, 1984]. There are also two more great hands-on activities that are described on the site that are excellent for use to creatively teach students about Pi.
Visit the Exploratorium's website for more information about Pi day, view pictures from previous Pi day celebrations, and gather a variety of ideas to teach the value of Pi in your classroom. There are various other Pi resources for use in your classroom at the site as well. With a little bit of planning, and perhaps an apple pie to share, your students will never forget the value of Pi.
You may be interested in other math lesson ideas.
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