Pi Day was first formally celebrated in 1988 at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, when physicist Larry Shaw organized events around March 14, or 3/14, also known as 3.14, which are the first three digits of pi (π), the mathematical constant that is the relationship between the circumference of a circle and its diameter. In 2009, the US House of Representatives recognized it as an annual event and since then, like the pi itself, it has become a source of endless joy.
These Pi Day lessons and activities are perfect for teaching your students about trigonometry, geometry, physics, cosmology, statistics, thermodynamics, and much more, since pi appears in numerous formulas. So help yourself to a slice of pi here and enjoy!
Pi Day Lessons and Activities
Celebrate Pi Day with NCTM
The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics offers activities from its publications, divided by elementary, middle and high school grades, ranging from “Tree Talk” (students measure the circumference of local trees to determine the age) to “Kissing Pennies and Eating Pi.” ” (a classroom investigation exploring various expressions of pi).
Mensa for Kids: Pi Day Fun!
Featuring three lessons and 14 activities, including paper chain making, trivia, greeting cards, and even Pi Day cupcakes featuring a secret Mensa frosting!
A brief history of Pi (π)
What has been around longer: pie or pi? The answer may surprise you. Discover how ancient mathematicians deduced the concept and approximate value of pi in this article from the Exploratorium museum in San Francisco.
14 Fun Pi Day 2024 Activities for High School Students
A light-hearted, yet academically challenging collection of pi-related activities that incorporates music, language, poetry, art, statistics, history, American date abbreviations, and more. To fully appreciate Activity #3, “Throw a Pi-Themed Party,” students should watch Why is the area of a circle equal to π r²? Try 2000 years, but with pizza..
The discovery that transformed Pi
Before Isaac Newton transformed mathematics, calculating pi was laborious and slow. This entertaining but detailed video explains the principles behind Newton's elegant proof. And yes, there will be pizza.
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Pi Challenges
Would you like to think a little about heaven? Explore illustrated lessons that take Pi out of Earth's orbit to solve solar system problems, such as the density of the asteroid Psyche and frost on lunar craters. A “stellar” collection.
Learn about Pi
A dynamic, illustrated explanation of pi that captures the reader's attention with its colorful, animated graphics that clearly demonstrate the properties of pi and how it can be used to calculate volumes of many two- and three-dimensional shapes. This PiDay.org webpage would provide an excellent and enlightening accompaniment to the pi-related lessons included in this article.
Teach Pi
TeachPi.org, a host of pi activities, stories, music, lessons and trivia, was founded by math teacher and speaker Luke Anderson, whose enthusiasm for pi and arithmetic cannot be contained. Be sure to check out Anderson's alter ego, Pi Daddy, and his rap song, “Lose Yourself (In The Digits).” A super fun site to peruse.
Resources related to PBS LearningMedia Pi
A host of K-12 pi related lessons and interactives including calculating pi with darts, square wheel tricycle, golden ratio music, and more fascinating topics. Lessons and activities are standards-aligned, shareable on Google Classroom, and include plenty of support materials for teachers. And yes, there will be cake. And pizza.
