Crafts

As a class or grade, create a pi chain with loops of construction paper, using a different color for each of the ten digits.

» The reigning champion on the ever-growing Pi Chain Rankings is Masuk High School in Monroe, CT.  You won’t believe how many digits they strung together…
» Students at Dallas H.S. in Dallas Township, PA created a pi chain that was 7,147 digits long. It stretched nearly half a mile.

Have your students make crafts with Pi Day themes, either as homework for Pi Day, or in class when the day arrives.

» So many possibilities!  Just a few that have been done are: Jewelry (Beads), Paper Plate Pi Hats, Pi Day Greeting Cards, Pi-Mobiles, Paper Dolls, and Pi Buttons. We’re sure this is only the tip of the crafty iceberg.

The day before Pi Day, pass out paper plates, and assign each student a digit. Have them draw the number on the plate, and color and decorate it. On Pi Day, hang them along a string or on the hallway wall, or have everyone hold their plate and stand in one big circle.

» At Foothill Knolls Elem. in Ontario, CA, a square of more than 200 students was formed outside the building, each one holding his or her decorated paper plate. “We wanted to do just more than tell them about it,” said sixth grade teacher Beth Stone. “This allows them to actually become a part of Pi.”

Make a chain of beads, where each number is represented by a different color. Students can make personal bracelets, or work on one ultra-long strand as a class.

» Greenway School students in Knoxville, TN worked to assemble a string of 4,000 beads.

Decorate your clothes with the pi symbol, and have the students do the same! Let’s hope the Art department will help you out with some markers, glue, glitter, and a little puffy paint.

» About 100 math students at Chittenango H.S. in Syracuse, NY decorated t-shirts, shorts, necklaces, socks, jeans, and hair accessories for the big day.

Have all your school’s math teachers wear pi-themed t-shirts, either homemade (pi-dyed?) or purchased. Find a variety of pre-made, pi-themed apparel at www.pidye.com.

» Red River H.S. teachers in Grand Forks, ND sported slogans like “Cow Pi” and “Turkey Pot Pi.”

Send an e-card, or cut out & decorate your own card, to wish someone far away a Happy Pi Day. Here’s the best e-place to do it.

» Or, send Hallmark a note asking them get to work on a line of real Pi Day cards!