Looking for some fun activities for Pi Day (March 14th)? Pi Day has become a regular annual celebration in Math classes across the country. From creating colorful chains, to learning Pi Day facts, to eating delicious slices of apple and cherry pie, students get a break from their regular math lessons. Why March 14th? This date can be written 3/14 which matches the first three digits of pi, 3.14. It’s a time of the year students, (and teachers) need a break. Time to stop and have some fun while they learn.
Fun Pi Day Facts
Did you know that Albert Einstein was born on March 14th? And Stephen Hawking died on that date in 2018. The world record for memorizing digits of pi are around 70,000 digits! Do your students know the approximate fractional equivalent of pi? (22/7). The ancient Babylonians first calculated pi almost 4000 years ago. And the term Pi comes from the 16th letter of the Greek alphabet. Challenge your students to memorize these interesting facts.
Some Pi Day Activities for Your Classroom
Challenge your students to see how many digits of Pi they can memorize and give prizes or extra credit for those who remember the most! Have the students create chains to represent the numbers of pi, by providing strips with a different color for each of the ten numbers 0 – 9. Challenge the students to see how many digits they can represent with their chains.
Provide your students with round objects they can use to calculate circumference and diameter. They can measure circular objects like can lids, plates, even cookies and pizza! Have them use string to measure circumference, rulers to measure diameter, and then calculate pi. They will be surprised to find that every circle, no matter the size, will have the same ratio of circumference to diameter, 3.14.
Create a competition with dice and see which group or pair of students can roll the first 10 digits of pi first.
Create a card game and have students lay down cards that match the digits of pi.
Read to students from the popular book, Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi while they eat slices of pie at their desks.
Have students create a bar graph “Pi Line” creating a bar for each number of pi and coloring them to look like a skyline of buildings. They can decorate their graph with clouds and a sun.
Pass out a study guide of Pi Day facts and then have a group competition to see who can answer 15 facts in a Race to Finish.
Check out this engaging Pi Day Activity! Competition Race to Finish – Pi Day Facts
Have a great time on March 14th, Pi Day!!