Pi Day ’18 – The Fun Never Ends (Nor Do The Digits…)

Hi, Pi pals!

We’ve endured nearly a full year since our last excuse to celebrate our favorite number, and now, well, we’re back! The math-holiday highlight of the months since the last Pi Day was most certainly the “e Day of the Century,” which we hit (and many of us likely missed) on 2.7.18. The number e, which math students know as the natural log, starts out 2.71828, so hey, February 7, 2018 was pretty much as good as it was going to get for that little guy. Happy belated e Day!

But back to the number of honor. Do you have any special plans this year? I’m pretty excited about mine. After years of admiring it from afar, I will be in attendance for the celebration at the birthplace of Pi Day, and on its 30th birthday, no less. Yes, the Exploratorium in San Francisco was where Pi Day is considered to have been founded, way back in 1988, and as a 20-year veteran of the holiday myself, I will finally get to see their unique tribute up close. Can’t wait! I’ll also be giving a talk on Pi for the math faculty and students at a nearby Bay Area university. Good times with friends of Pi.

If you’re a teacher, don’t forget to record your top students’ digit memory counts and send them in for consideration for TeachPi.org’s definitive K-12 rankings! We’re all waiting with bated breath for just how many digits the 5th phenom from Louisana, Adriana Martin, is going to bust out this year. Will anyone come close to filling her shoes in the younger grades, or fend her off as she blazes into the record books in her upcoming grades? Only time will tell. Go Adriana (and everyone else)!

Well, as always, if you have something particularly fun to share about your Pi Day, please share away! Otherwise, enjoy have a wonderful 3.14.18, and if you’ll be at the Exploratorium too, catch me for a hello!

Luke