MoMath’s “Pi Day” will culminate with an evening “Pi by Night” celebration hosted by the Museum’s third Distinguished Visiting Professor, Alex Kontorovich

Sunday, March 14, 2021

“Pi Day” celebration: 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. & 2 p.m. – 3 p.m. ET

“Pi by Night” celebration: 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. ET

WHO: Cindy Lawrence, CEO and Executive Director of MoMath

Alex Kontorovich, MoMath’s third Distinguished Visiting Professor for the Public Dissemination of Mathematics and Rutgers Math Professor

Participants from around the world joining the global celebration of “Pi Day”

WHEN: Sunday, March 14

Pi Day celebration:

11 a.m. – 12 p.m. & 2 p.m. – 3 p.m. ET

Pi by Night celebration:

7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. ET

WHERE: Online

These are virtual, live-streamed events, so please plan to attend at the specified session times. Some videos may be made available for a fee afterwards, but it will be better to show up live rather than look for recordings later.

COST: $15 per session (morning, afternoon or evening) or $35 for the complete event

(Reduced rates are available for a limited time, so register early if you plan to attend)

WHAT: Join the worldwide celebration of “Pi Day,” math’s biggest holiday of the year, hosted online by the National Museum of Mathematics (MoMath), North America’s only math Museum. MoMath’s “Pi Day” event will feature pi-themed activities on Sunday, March 14 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET, and culminating with an evening “Pi by Night” celebration from 7 p.m. to  8:30 p.m ET.

MoMath’s “Pi Day” and “Pi by Night” festivities will include the following:

1. “Roping Around the World” (11 a.m. ET): 

Test your intuition with a mathematical problem about a rope tied around the Earth. Explore the counterintuitive solution with an engaging, hands-on activity.

2. “Why don’t we celebrate Phi Day” (11:30 a.m. ET)

Phi, also known as the Golden Ratio, is one of the most unique irrational numbers in all of mathematics. Learn about this fascinating number that shows up in all sorts of unexpected places, including a number of MoMath exhibits. Then, discover why the number pi, in contrast, is more deserving of its own holiday and how pi transcends the basic rules of arithmetic.

3. “Probably Pi?” (2 p.m. ET)

While it is impossible to write pi in its entirety, various methods exist to generate better approximations. In this crowd-sourced experiment, we see how the law of large numbers lets us confidently approach pi by using probability. By randomly dropping a needle onto a set of lines, we can converge on pi experimentally, without the need for direct measurement. Help us generate data to see how many digits of pi we can get — the more, the mathier!

4. “What is the value of Pi?” (2:30 p.m. ET)

Throughout history, people have tried to compute the exact value of pi. Ancient Babylonians believed that pi = 25/8, Egyptians thought that pi = (16/9)^2 = 256/81, while the Indiana state legislature almost passed a bill in 1897 stating that pi = 3.2. We know that pi cannot be computed exactly because it is an irrational number and an infinite decimal. Join us as we use geometric constructions to find rational approximations.

5. Pi by Night: Join Alex Kontorovich for an evening exploration — and bring your own (pizza) pi! (7 p.m. ET)

Join MoMath’s Distinguished Visiting Professor, Alex Kontorovich, for an exploration of pi. What does pi have to do with circles? How can we be sure that pi is bigger than three…or smaller than four? How can the power of pi surprise us when we look at everyday household items? And how can we use everyone’s favorite food to learn more about this amazing number? Join us to find out…and bring your own pizza pi!

The National Museum of Mathematics (MoMath) is the only math museum in North America. Since opening in December 2012, MoMath has welcomed over 1.1 million visitors, including over 250,000 students and 8,400 school groups.

Learn more and register for the virtual Pi Day event online here!

Looking for more Pi Day FUN? See this page full of ideas, songs & games to help you celebrate.

The post 2021 Virtual Pi Day Celebration Hosted by MoMath appeared first on Math Geek Mama.

Pi Day is just around the corner and here at Math Geek Mama we are so excited! An entire day dedicated to math (and tasty treats)? What more could you ask for!? This is an especially great opportunity to help your students get excited about math. This digital pi day resource is a great way to get students in the spirit of Pi Day with a fun and tasty theme they’ll love and the deeper mathematical thinking you expect.

Digital Pi Day Activity: Adding, Subtracting, Multiplying, and Dividing Decimals

Decimals and Why They Matter

We believe that math should always be in context and have real world aspects. The purpose of teaching math to our students is to prepare them for the math they will encounter in their everyday lives. What better way to teach math than in contexts that students can relate to and will encounter?

Decimals are an essential math element we deal with on a day to day basis. So it is essential that our students are confident in their ability to manipulate decimals in all forms of real world context. 

Using the Digital Pi Day Activity

Provide Some Context

In this task there are six different Pi day contestants who will be competing with their different pies. Each person has a math problem that they need solved involving money, weight, and measurements with decimals.

These are included as digital slides for Google Slides, which students can then read, solve and type their solutions onto.

If you are meeting in person, printable pages are also included, which students can write their final solutions on. You might set these up as stations and have students rotate through the problems to solve. Then you can discuss them together to determine the winner of the Pi Day Pie Contest.

Students will first solve each decimal problem using addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division. Then at the end they will determine who the winner of the contest is.

The winner just happens to be the person whose answer was 3.14, or the decimal approximation of pi. 

The Math: Operations with Decimals

Each of the six math problems require students to either add, subtract, multiply, or divide using decimals. Each problem requires students’ knowledge of lining up place value and moving decimals according to standard algorithms.

There is one addition and one subtraction problem as students generally are more familiar with these and two multiplication and two division problems. Students are less familiar with multiplication and division, so more of these problems were included to help students practice more.

The Added Challenge

Often students are told exactly what type of problem they are solving, but in real life rarely is this the case. We need to offer our students more opportunities to determine from context what math is required.

In this task, students are asked to solve the decimal problems but not told how to solve them.

Students will determine whether they need to add, subtract, multiply, or divide using only the context. This will give your students the opportunity to deepen their understanding of decimals and practice solving math in a real world way.

Providing Additional Support

Although students are familiar with multiplying and dividing decimals with whole numbers by fifth grade, one problem does include division of decimals by decimals, which is a sixth grade standard.

To use this activity with younger grades, you can simply work through the problems they are unfamiliar with together.

In general, I put the problem up on the board and then ask students how to solve it and work through it together as a class with some guidance. You might be surprised with how much your students are able to discover about unfamiliar content! 

Also, the last question does require students to be familiar with the rounded version of pi (3.14). If students do not know that Pi is approximated by 3.14, you can guide them to this by sharing the holiday date with them and helping them make the connection. You may also simply want to explain Pi and its notation.

More Pi Day Fun!

March 14th is a fun opportunity to expand your students’ love and excitement for math! You and your students will love this fun and free digital Pi day activity that will have your students thinking deeply and leave you all craving some delicious pie! Happy Pi Day and math geek on!

{Click HERE to go to my shop & grab the FREE Digital Pi Day Activity!}

Looking for more ways to celebrate? Try one of these FREE ideas:

• Pi-lentines: Cards to Pass Out for Pi Day
• Race to Pi: Simple Card Game
• Pi Day Sing-a-Long Songs
• Pass the Pi Investigation Lesson
• Pi Day Logic Puzzles
• HUGE List of Pi Day Ideas for All Ages

The post {FREE} Digital Pi Day Activity: Decimal Operations Word Problems appeared first on Math Geek Mama.

Are you excited to make math fun this Pi Day? I love finding new ways to celebrate and explore various math concepts each Pi Day: March 14. This is a great opportunity to introduce the number pi-how it’s derived and how it relates to measurement-and circles. It’s also a fun day to learn about Albert Einstein, because it’s his birthday! Today, I want to share a fun collection of Pi Day logic puzzles that will help kids develop critical thinking skills and provide a fun (and different) challenge for your Pi Day celebrations.

Pi Day Logic Puzzles for Kids:

So what kind of logic puzzles are included in this download? First, you’ll find a grid puzzle with a Pi Day theme.

To complete this, kids use the clues to mark off or put checks in the grid to determine how many digits of Pi each child memorized, what their favorite type of pie is and what they want to be when they grow up.

They need to read carefully to work out all the specifics of this puzzle!

Next, there are two sudoku puzzles with a Pi Day theme.

If you’re not familiar with these logic puzzles, they are made up of 9 3×3 boxes.

To correctly complete the puzzle, each 3×3 box, each row and each column must contain the digits 1-9, with no repeats.

All of these puzzles are sure to provide a fun challenge for your kids as you celebrate Pi day this year!

Plus, the set includes answer keys, saving you time!

Pi Day Activities for Younger Kids:

Do you teach younger kids who would like to get in on the PI Day celebrations? I’ve got you covered!

Try one of the following activities to enjoy Pi Day Math FUN:

• Pi Day Sing Along Songs
• Activities to go along with the book Sir Cumference & the Dragon of Pi
• Pi Day Circle Art Project
• Easy and fun Pi Day Card Game (super low-prep!)

And if you’re looking for more ideas, from Pi Day Art to Pi Day Songs and MORE, check out my complete Pi Day Resource Page HERE.

Ready to grab this Pi Day Logic Puzzle Set? Just click the link below to grab it free in my shop.

And if you love this set of logic puzzles, you may enjoy my entire set of themed puzzles for the whole year! This Pi Day logic puzzle set is just one of the fun themes in this collection.

A Year of Logic Puzzles includes 3 puzzles just like this for each month of the year. Themes include things like “New Year’s,” “Valentine’s Day,” “Earth Day,” “Fall,” “Camping,” and MORE!

BUY A YEAR OF LOGIC PUZZLES HERE

{Click HERE to go to our shop and grab the FREE set of Pi Day Logic Puzzles!}

The post {FREE} Pi Day Logic Puzzles | Grades 4+ appeared first on Math Geek Mama.

*Please Note: This post contains affiliate links which help support the work of this site. Read our full disclosure here.*

Over the years, I’ve come up with lots of fun ways to celebrate this day with my kids. We’ve sung silly Pi Day songs, and created sweet friendship cards to spread the Pi Day joy.

This year is no exception!

We’re a little early with this project, because the weather was beautiful, warm and not raining for the first time in what feels like weeks. So I jumped at the chance to get outside and create one of a kind math art as we begin to think about Pi Day.

Get Outside: Sidewalk Chalk Pi Day Art Project

The goal of this project was simple: briefly introduce my kids to circles and circle measurements, as well as using a compass, and then let them create unique chalk art.

So before letting them loose, we sat together in the driveway and I explained what a compass is, and how to use it. We talked about what makes a circle a circle, and measuring the diameter and circumference of a circle.

Then I explained that if you take the circumference of a circle and divide it by the diameter, it will equal the number pi. No matter how big or how small your circle.

Yes, I explained all of this to my 7, 8 and 9 year old.

Even though these concepts might normally be taught in middle school or high school Geometry, if kids understand how to measure and divide, they can understand how to find the number pi.

My kids were amazed that this would hold true for any and all circles! I love seeing their amazement and wonder!

Related: Learn what makes a triangle a triangle.

Then I explained their project for the day. The only requirements are that they use the compass to create a variety of overlapping circles. Any size, any quantity.

Then they can color all the different parts in any way they liked.

They loved this idea, and thought immediately of a color by number type of picture.

So yes, the end result will look like a color by number, but without the numbers!

Ready to get started with your own Pi Day art project? Here’s what you need.

Materials Needed for this Pi Day Art Project:

• Chalk compass*
• Colored chalk*
• Black construction paper (if you’d rather do this inside with chalk and paper)
• Printable lesson (optional, depending on the age of your kids)

*You could also do the same thing with pencil and paper, and color the circles in with colored pencils.

As I said, the weather was beautiful and I was looking for a chance to get outside. So we did this on the driveway with sidewalk chalk.

Alternatively, this would also make a lovely art project using chalk on black construction paper. This is probably what we’ll do on the actual Pi Day, now that my kids are familiar with the compass and the idea of the project.

Once you have all the supplies, kids simply draw various circles. It is a little tricky to use a compass on the driveway and have perfect circles come out. But just encourage kids to do their best. It doesn’t have to be perfect!

After kids are satisfied with their circle design, they can color it in however they’d like.

The result is a beautiful, unique design!

What I loved about this project is that all of my kids were able to participate and learn something, at their own level.

Even my 5 year old was able to learn how to use and practice making circles with the compass!

Now if you want to kick the learning up a notch, you can download the free printable math lesson to go along with this art project.

There are 2 pages included. The first is for younger kids and introduces the vocabulary terms and challenges them to measure the diameter of each of their circles.

The second is a more in depth investigation, in which older kids can discover the number pi on their own.

It includes a table to record the circumference measurements, diameter measurements and the ratio for each of their circles. Hopefully they will notice then that each time the number is close to a pi approximation: 3.14.

Then they take the average of all of their ratios, which will hopefully be an even closer approximation of the number pi.

You can then discuss their findings together as a group.

I hope you enjoy this fun, hands on Pi Day Art Project! If your kids have a fun, unique piece of art to share, tag me on Instagram so I can see it!

Happy Pi Day friends!

{Click HERE to go to my shop and grab the FREE Pi Day Art Project Recording Pages!}

Even MORE Pi Day Ideas:

• Ultimate List of Pi Day Resources
• Activities for “Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi” by Cindy Neuschwander
• Race to Pi: Simple Pi Day Card Game
• Hands On Pi Day Investigation for Middle School and Beyond

This post is part of the 28 Days of STEAM series at Left Brain Craft Brain! Check out the full collection of integrated learning ideas here.

The post Simple Pi Day Art Project {Free Printable!} appeared first on Math Geek Mama.

*Please Note: This post contains affiliate links which help support the work of this site. Read our full disclosure policy here.*

Race to Pi: A Simple Pi Day Card Game

Now, I just want to be clear from the start: this game involves the number pi, but does not focus on a specific math skill. It’s simply a fun, pi-themed game.

I would encourage you, however, to start by learning about the number pi with this hands on investigation.

This will show your kids where this number comes from and what it means.

Or if you have very young kids who aren’t ready for that yet, start by reading Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi as an introduction and conversation starter.

(Plus, here’s a free extension lesson to go along with it!)

Then when they’re ready, you can enjoy playing this math card game together!

Setting up the Pi Day Card Game:

To set up the game, you will need a deck of cards with tens and face cards removed, except Ace, which represents 1 and Jack, which represents 0.

(If you’re playing with a large group, you may want to use two decks of cards)

You may also want to print a copy of the number pi for players to reference (especially younger kids who don’t know may digits of pi).

If you’d rather make it more challenging, play without it and require players to have the digits memorized.

Shuffle the cards sufficiently and deal each player 7 cards.

How to Play Race to Pi:

The object of the game is to be the first player to play all the cards in your hand.

Place the rest of the deck face down in the middle.

The first player then tries to play a card from their hand. In order to play a card, he/she must play the next digit of the number pi.

Therefore, the first player must play a 3.

If the player doesn’t have a 3, they draw a card and it is the next player’s turn.

They then must play a 3 to begin the digits of the number pi. Again, if they don’t have a 3, they draw a card and play continues to the next player.

Once someone plays a 3, the next player must play a 1 or draw a card, then a 4, and so on.

The first player to play all of their cards wins!

Or, if no one can play another card, the player with the fewest cards remaining wins!

Pi Day Card Game Variations:

Again, if you’re playing with young kids, I would suggest printing a copy of the digits of pi as a reference (or writing them on the board or a piece of paper).

However, if you really want to challenge older kids, require the game to be played from memory.

Players can then challenge each other if they think a player has played the wrong number.

If they were correct with their value, the challenger must draw an additional 4 cards. If the challenger was correct, however, and the value was wrong, the original player must draw 4 cards.

Again, the game ends when a player plays all cards in their hand. (Or if no one can play any more cards, the player with the fewest cards remaining wins).

So while this game doesn’t require calculations or mental math skills, it can help sharpen students’ focus as they pay attention to what’s being played, and increase memorization skills as they learn the digits of pi.

Plus, it’s just a fun card game to play to celebrate Pi Day!

So I hope you and your students enjoy this, and if you’re looking for even more Pi Day Math Ideas, check out this HUGE list of my very favorite ideas. There’s something for everyone!

Purchase PDF Download | Purchase Print Book on Amazon

Love math card games? Grab this collection of 15 Fun & Simple Games FREE:

The post Race to Pi: Simple and Fun Pi Day Card Game appeared first on Math Geek Mama.

*Please Note: This post was written in partnership with Princess Awesome, and I was supplied with the perfect Pi Day gear. It also contains affiliate links. For more information, read our full disclosure policy.*

Materials Needed for this Pi Day Craft:

• Printed Pi Day cards (download at the end of the post)
• Pencils of your choice (to give away)
• Card stock (white or colored)
• Crayons or colored pencils (to color and decorate the cards)
• Scissors
• Single hole punch
• Calculators (optional)

How to Assemble Your Pi-lentines:

These cards are very easy to assemble, because I am all about easy! To get started, print out the cards of your choice.

The Pi Day craft download below includes a variety of options.

Three options are designed to fit over a pencil.

Then there are two rectangular options that can be printed to simply hand out (without a gift) or included with a small calculator.

I found these calculators at the dollar store, and they seem to be the perfect size for kids, in fun colors.

Obviously if your kids have a large class, you may not want to purchase a calculator for all of them. But if they’re only going to pass out cards to a couple of friends, they might like their very own calculator.

I printed our cards on white card stock because my kids love to color. So they were able to spend time decorating them and making each card their own before we attached it to the pencil.

If your kids aren’t interested in coloring them, you can print on colored card stock.

After printing out your card choices, cut them out around the edges.

The top and bottom are what you’ll use to slide the pencil through.

Using a single hole punch, punch a hole in the top and bottom. Depending on the size of your pencil, you may need to punch twice to make a slightly larger hole. My first punch did not create a big enough hole for the pencil to go through.

Just be careful that you don’t make it too big. This could cause the pencil to fall out, or the card to rip.

Once it’s colored, cut out, and hole punched, simply slide the pencil through and it’s ready to share with friends!

Or if you’d like to use the rectangular cards, simply cut them out and color, then hand them out. Or attach them to a calculator to give out to friends.

I could easily open and then reseal my calculators, so I simply slid the card inside, then sealed it back up.

Other Ways to Celebrate Pi Day:

As I mentioned, I think it’s perfectly reasonable to enjoy celebrating the number pi with young kids. So here are some other ideas you may enjoy:

• Pi Day sing-along songs (great for kids of any age!)
• Exploring Pi with Sir Cumference (literature based math lesson)
• Race to Pi: Easy Card Game for Kids of All Ages

Plus, see this page full of so many other ideas, you could celebrate Pi Day for a week.

Join Princess Awesome to Spread an Excitement for Math:

I created this Pi Day craft in collaboration with Princess Awesome. If you’re unfamiliar, they’re a girls clothing company that celebrates girls’ interests in girly, twirly dresses and math and rocket ships.

As they state on their website,

“It is crucial that girls have access to clothes that tell them that they can be and do anything. If you’ve ever met a little girl, you know they already know this is true.

They encourage young girls to be anything they want to be, so I’m excited to share their “Pi in the Sky” dresses. My girls are in love with these comfortable play dresses. Plus, it has allowed us to talk about math in our everyday conversations.

If you have a little girl who would love to show off this perfect Pi Day dress, be sure to check them out!

Ready to create these Pi Day cards with your kids? Click the link below to grab them for FREE from my shop:

{Click HERE to go to my shop and get the FREE Pi Day Craft cards for friends}

And if you create this Pi Day craft with your kids, tag me on Instagram, I’d love to see their creations!

The post Pi-lentines: Sweet Pi Day Craft for All Ages appeared first on Math Geek Mama.

*Please Note: This post contains affiliate links which help support the work of this site. Read our full disclosure here.*

Materials Needed for this Hands On Pi Day Investigation:

• Circular objects
• Measuring tape or ruler
• String (if you’re using a ruler to measure)

To Complete the Investigation:

The student handout included guides students through each step.

First they will need to measure the circumference and diameter of various circular objects (I like to use fun food such as pie or cookies, but anything circular will work ).

If students are not familiar with these measurements, take time to go over them before you start.

They then record the answers in their table and calculate the ratio.

Hopefully if students measure accurately, their ratio should be approximately the number pi, and their average should be an even closer approximation.

After completing the table and discussion questions, discuss the results together as a group!

Also included in this download are teaching tips.

And if you like, this lesson would go along perfectly with the book, Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi. (You can also get more lessons to use with the book when you subscribe to my free email newsletter!)

I hope you have a fantastic Pi Day celebration, and learn all about circles, measurement, pi and irrational numbers!

{Click HERE to go to my shop to get your copy of the hands on Pi Day investigation!}

Looking for more Pi Day ideas? Check out this ever growing list of videos, lessons and games for Pi Day fun!

The post Pass the Pi: A Hands On Pi Day Investigation appeared first on Math Geek Mama.

*Please Note: This post contains affiliate links which help support the work of this site. Read our full disclosure policy here.*

What is Pi Day, you ask? Well the number pi is a constant which represents the ratio between the circumference and diameter of a circle. The value of this number is often rounded to 3.14.

Therefore, each year Pi Day is celebrated on March 14th (3.14) by learning about circles and ratios and measurement, as well as irrational numbers such as the number pi.

Looking for ways to learn and explore with your kids? I have created a fun and free math lesson for understanding the number pi which is great for middle or high school students.

Reading the book Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi is another great way to introduce kids to this fun number! (Plus, get free lessons to use with the book when you subscribe to my email newsletter).

Want even more ideas? Check out my “Pi Day Goodness” page with dozens of links to ideas, games and free resources to explore this super cool number!

Pi Day Sing Along:

And of course, it’s always fun to sing of the wonders of the number pi and the fun of pi day, so here is a Pi Day Sing Along sheet to help you get in the spirit of the day!

This download includes 2 pages of black and white song lyrics to the tunes of familiar songs such as “Jingle Bells,” “Happy Birthday” and more!

{Click HERE to go my shop to download the Pi Day Sing Along!}

So start counting down and get excited! Pi Day will be here before you know it!

The post Pi Day Sing Along {FREE Printable!} appeared first on Math Geek Mama.

It’s here, friends! Pi Day 2015, where we get to celebrate a once in a century event!! Today on March 14, 2015 at 9:26:53 we experience the first 10 digits (3.141592653) of the number pi!

Today has become especially meaningful to me, not just because I’m a math geek, or just because I love pi(e), (though both of those things are true!), but because of my little “pi baby.” She was born weighing Pi!

Ok, so she didn’t weigh exactly pi (3.14 pounds would be 3 pounds, 2.24 ounces…) but she did weigh 3 pounds 14 ounces, and that made it special to me! Plus, I wasn’t even the one who caught it, my students were! At that made this math geek very, very happy!

So of course, when pi day came around and I was still on maternity leave, I took my little “pi baby” to school to celebrate and let everyone “ooh” and “ahh” over her. Which they did, of course.

Two years later, and she’s just as cute as ever!

But I digress. The real purpose of this post is to wish you a happy, happy pi day, and show you how we celebrated at our house! We sang fun songs, and then I helped my daughter graph the frequency of the first 100 digits.

I was a little concerned this would be overwhelming for her, but she was excited and all about the challenge! She did the entire thing herself, and even though she missed a few numbers here and there, she still did a great job.

And of course, we had chocolate pie! Which is really all the kids cared about anyway, right?

How did you spend Pi Day??

The post Happy Pi Day!! 3.14.15 appeared first on Math Geek Mama.