Pi Day Fun

Pi Day is an international holiday that celebrates the mathematical constant π. The annual celebration is observed on March 14th because the numbers 3, 1, and 4 are the three digits commonly associated with the symbol. Going on a mathematical adventure with your child by using these fun Pi Day activities from the schools in Polk County!

Find Pi with an Apple Pie
The whole basis of Pi is that a circle’s ratio of the circumference, or the distance all the way around, an object and the diameter, or the distance across, are the same number. You get 3.1415, a number that never ends, no matter how many decimal places you move. Experience pi with an apple pie!

Materials:

• “Sir Comference and the Dragon of Pi” book

• Apple pie (or pie of choice)

• Scissors

• String

Instructions:
Read the book with your child! It’s a great way for her to understand pi. The story follows Sir Cumference and his son, Radius. The father drinks a potion that turns him into a dragon, so his son must find a cure. Radius meets Geo and Sym Metry, who are brothers who make wheels. Radius helps his cousin make pies and that’s how solves the mystery of pi!

1. Your child will do what Radius did in the story! She will start by taking a piece of string and measuring the diameter of the pie.

2. She will triple the string’s length by multiplying the diameter by three.

3. Wrap the string around the outside of the pie. There will be a gap in the story. Your child will then guess how much more string she’ll need.

4. The answer is the extra .14159265359! The number pie allows the string to meet all the way around your food!

Pi Paper Chain
Your little mathematician will love this activity! She will pair colored paper strips with numbers. For example, one will be orange and red will be 10. The paper strips will be linked in the order of pi, 3.1215, etc. You’ll just need construction paper of 10 different colors and tape. Your child will start by cutting the paper into strips, then decide what colors she wants to be what number. She’ll start the chain by looping and taping the #3 paper strip. Then she will loop onto that #1. Repeat until the chain gets longer and longer — thus representing pi!  

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