Events

Name a Pi King and Queen. Adorn them with pie-plate crowns and, well, rolling-pins for scepters. Give them special duties, like announcing the length of the paper pi chain, or handing out awards.

Use Pi Day as a reason to go out with your department, perhaps for an evening of pie at a local restaurant-bakery.

» The Dupage County Science Fiction Society holds an outing each year at various restaurants in Wheaton, IL, drawing around 100 folks. It’s open to the public, but they do enforce an interesting dress code: Guests must carry a laptop, calculator, abacus, slide rule, or other math gadgets. All of these must be used in calculating the tip, of course.

Hold a workshop for careers in math and science, bringing in speakers from the community.

» Allow students to choose three or four presentations on careers of their choice.

Hold an after-school Pi Day reception, where students perform original Pi Day songs, or songs they find on TeachPi.org. Hand out Pi Day carols to the audience, and find a musical teacher or student to lead a sing-along.

» Use the event to announce the winners and give prizes to the students behind the top Pi Day projects.

Create a school-wide theme each year for Pi Day. Kick it off on the morning announcements, or with well-placed banners.

» Davis M.S. in Hampton, VA decided to emphasize an artistic link with a theme of “Art + Math = Fun Learning.”

Have a group of students prepare a creative segment for the school’s video newscast about the importance of pi, both in math and in everyday life.

» A goofy & informative Pi Day-morning broadcast is ideal.

Take an overhead photo of your students outside, forming the first several digits of the number. Third graders can form the 3, first graders the 1, and so on. A great image for the local newspaper!

» This precise photo was taken at the International School, Borneo (ISB) in March, 2005.
» Why not make the math teachers the decimal point?

Have students toss cream pies at the faces of teachers or administrators. Make sure to charge a buck or two for each toss to raise money for charity; they’ll certainly pay it!

Divide your class into teams, and track their group scores as they compete in a series of Pi Day events. Award team and individual medals (or pies, or other round treats).

» Student teams at the Montgomery Academy wore colors to match their pie-themed team names, such as “The Banana Creams,” “The Key Limes,” and “The Oreos.” They faced off in speed math tests, Pi Bingo, brain teasers, and computer games.

Stage a relay race, in which participants run from one station to the next, answering Pi trivia or math questions at each stop.

» Fredonia State College in Fredonia, NY calls this one-hour activity “Le Tour de Pi.”

At a school-wide Pi Day assembly, hold a school spirit contest to see which grade can shout “3 point 1 4 1 5 9!” the very loudest. Or, try a longer chant. (see below)

» The sixth grade beat the older classes to claim the Warrior Spirit Stick at Stephen Mack M.S. in Rockford, IL in 2003.
» Here’s an example of a good, loud school chant. It can be responsive, where each line is yelled by a different grade, and then all grades shout the final line, inserting their own number for maximal school-spirit effect.

We love Pi Day to the core! March 14th is 3 1 4!
Here’s where Math gets really fun! Pi starts 3 point 1 4 1!
Let’s make Pi Day come alive! Let’s go, 3 1 4 1 5!
Pi Day’s (4th) Grade’s chance to shine! 3 point 1 4 1 5 9!