Pi Day celebrations give math lessons a delicious turn

On March 14th, mathematics lessons throughout the country celebrate the PI day – a national holiday in honor of the mathematical constant PI, which represents the relationship of the scope of a circle to its diameter and begins with the digits 3.14.

It is a time when the students can take a break of a traditional way to learn mathematics and become more creative with pizza, cake and more creative.

“[Pi Day is] Children to remember that there are funny aspects in terms of mathematics, ”said Joseph Bolz, mathematical teacher at George Washington High School in Denver.

Education Week spoke to three educators about how to celebrate the PI Day in 2025.

A PI day is growing in Colorado this year

This year Bolz is happy about the expansion of the PI day in his high school.

In the past few years, he would creatively creatively provide practical tools about PI to measure the angles and radius of a biscuit to make it easier for children to understand, said Bolz.

In the other half of the time, the students from Bölz went to the library, where they meet other mathematical teachers, pupils and parents and get involved with Pi Day celebrations.

The students grabbed Pie and created a PI chain, wrote jokes about PI and mathematics or decorate a PI skyline with numbered buildings in the order of PI.

“It is always amazing when I can see the faces of the children when they come to the library [in reaction to] All the different things we have, ”said Bolz.

Parents and local companies donate and report voluntarily to create an unforgettable PI day celebration, said Bolz. But this school year will look a little different if the high school has a sponsor: T-Mobile.

“[T-Mobile is] I will bring a truck with me that has a few science and engineering equipment so that I try to involve my science courses at the PI Day, ”he said. He added this to a cross-departmental celebration of the PI day with natural sciences and mathematics.

In Illinois, the students compete in the activities of the PI Day

In the area of ​​Chicagoland, Catalina Perricone, a mathematical teacher of the High School, who is currently on maternity leave, has had the PI day in various schools in the region for more than 12 years.

“It is important that the students know the historical meaning [of pi] And how exactly it is connected in such large concepts as the scope, radius and area, and that has been known for generations and has been developed for so long, ”said Perricone.

Perricone celebrated the PI-Tag through practical activities such as the collection, measurement and calculation of circular household items such as a pringles can or rolling of paper towels.

A celebration that protrudes is competition activities such as hazard games and trivia or department wide competitions. Another Perricones's most popular PI activities is to pull a circle with their arm as a radius and to vote about who pulled the most perfect circle.

“The students really go into it,” she said. “You get very competitive what I love.”

She is happy to come back to the classroom and celebrate another PI day.

“Math is not always that [most fun] For students, if you enjoy it, make it tangible for you, ”she said. “Then they will also be excited.”

In New Jersey, Einstein's birthday is an important part of the day

In Princeton, New Jersey, the community meets to celebrate the Pi Day together with Albert Einstein's birthday who lived in the city.

In the past 15 years, Community partners and local organizations have put together a number of events all day.

Many PI day events take place in the Princeton Library, which is in the center of the city and brings teachers, parents and children together. (If the PI Day falls on a weekday, as this year, the celebrations take place at the weekend.) The library curates educational materials and organizes events such as Einstein Story Time and PISIKU, in which the students make Haikus about science or mathematics.

“We try to mix it every year and to think about various ways how we generally emphasize both the number Pi and mathematics,” said Janie Hermann, the programmer for adults at Princeton Public Library.

The library also shows relevant books and sends a list of PI or Einstein to teachers in the community.

“There are some people who are only interested in the mathematical aspect, and this is great, but by expanding it and trying to tie it into books and make it a broader scope, they will attract more people to the topic and maybe they can discover something about mathematics and natural sciences,” said Hermann. “Maybe you can do something about Pi and its meaning and what it is.”