Pi Day

The 14^th day of the 3^rd month of each year is observed as Pi Day in many countries and educational institutions.  

Pi is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter and has been known for over 4000 years now.

Calculating this ratio to as many digits as possible has been of interest for mathematicians since the 1900’s. Once computers came into the field of mathematics the value of Pi was calculated accurately to thousands of digits. It is also represented as the Greek letter for p, or π.

π = 3.141592653589793238…

For our everyday mathematical calculations, we use 3.14 as the value of Pi. 14^th March was selected as Pi-day since the date, when written in Month-Day format, is 3-14. And if you want to get more digits of Pi involved you can celebrate it at exactly 1.59pm on 3-14-22.

Did you know, Albert Einstein was born on 14^th March, 1879?

An activity to try to understand Pi: Take a bowl or plate and draw out a circle. Use a pair of scissors to cut out the circle. Fold the cut-out in half. The fold on the paper marks the diameter of the circle. Cut out a piece of string that has the same length as the diameter. Now trace the border of the circle, its circumference, with this peice of string. The circumference will be a little 'longer' than 3 times the string's lenth. 

Pi Day has been celebrated since 1988. Does your school celebrate it? You can talk to your teachers and friends about it and celebrate this cool constant, that stays the same for all circles, with some yummy pies.