Pi Day facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Pi Day |
|
|---|---|
Larry Shaw, the organizer of the first Pi Day celebration at the Exploratorium in San Francisco
|
|
| Observed by | United States |
| Type | Mathematical |
| Significance | 3, 1, and 4 are the three most significant figures of π in its decimal representation. |
| Celebrations | Pie eating, pi memorization competitions, discussions about π |
| Date | March 14 |
| Next time | March 14, 2026 |
| Frequency | Annual |
| First time | 1988 |
| Related to | Pi Approximation Day |
Pi Day is a fun yearly celebration of the special number π. Pi is a mathematical constant, which means it's a number that never changes. It's super important in math, especially when you're working with circles! We celebrate Pi Day on March 14th because the first three digits of pi are 3.14.
This special day was first celebrated in the United States. It was started in 1988 by Larry Shaw. He worked at a science museum in San Francisco called the Exploratorium.
People often celebrate by eating pie or having competitions to see who can remember the most digits of pi. In 2009, the United States government officially supported Pi Day. Later, in 2019, UNESCO made Pi Day the International Day of Mathematics.
There are other days to celebrate pi too! Some people celebrate Pi Approximation Day on July 22nd. This is because the fraction 22/7 is a good way to estimate pi. Another day is June 28th, which is sometimes called Tau Day. This day celebrates 2π, also known as tau.
Contents
The History of Pi Day
The very first big celebration of Pi Day happened in 1988. Larry Shaw, a physicist at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, organized it. Staff and visitors walked around a circular room and then ate fruit pies. The Exploratorium still celebrates Pi Day every year.
On March 12, 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a special statement. This statement officially recognized March 14, 2009, as National Pi Day.
For Pi Day 2010, Google made a special picture for its homepage called a Google Doodle. It showed the word Google with circles and pi symbols. In 2018, for the 30th anniversary of Pi Day, Google's doodle was a pie. This pie showed how pi relates to a circle's circumference and diameter.
Some people in Indonesia celebrate Pi Day on July 22nd. This is because they write dates as day/month/year (DD/MM/YYYY). So, 22/7 reminds them of the pi approximation.
The whole month of March 2014 was sometimes called "Pi Month." This is because the date was 3/14. The year 2015 had a very special "Super Pi Day" on March 14th. The date was 3/14/15. At exactly 9:26:53 AM, the date and time together showed the first ten digits of pi (3.141592653).
How People Celebrate Pi Day
People celebrate Pi Day in many fun ways! A popular way is eating pie. This is because "pi" and "pie" sound the same. Some people even have pie-throwing contests!
Many pizza and pie restaurants offer special deals or free items on Pi Day. Schools often hold competitions where students try to remember and recite the most digits of pi.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) often sends out its college acceptance letters on Pi Day. Since 2012, MIT has posted these decisions online at 6:28 PM. They call this "Tau Time" to also honor tau, which is 2π. In 2015, decisions came out at 9:26 AM, right after the "pi minute" for that year. In 2020, decisions were released at 1:59 PM, matching the first six digits of pi.
The town of Princeton, New Jersey, has big celebrations for Pi Day. They also celebrate Albert Einstein's birthday, which is also on March 14th! Einstein lived in Princeton for over twenty years. Besides pie eating and pi recitation contests, they have an annual Einstein look-alike contest.
Other Dates to Celebrate Pi
While March 14th is the main Pi Day, people celebrate pi on other dates too.
Pi Approximation Day is celebrated on July 22nd. This is because the fraction 22⁄7 is a common way to estimate pi. This estimate is very close to the real value of pi and has been used since the time of Archimedes.
Two Pi Day, also known as Tau Day, is on June 28th. This day celebrates 2π, which is also known by the Greek letter tau (τ). The number 2π is used a lot in math formulas and is about 6.28. Some mathematicians think tau is even more important than pi! On this day, people jokingly suggest eating "twice the pie."
Some people also celebrate pi on November 10th. This is because November 10th is the 314th day of the year.
Gallery
-
Pi Pie at Delft University
-
A grocery store selling pies for $3.14 on Pi Day
-
Creme pie in celebration of Pi day showing the greek letter and the first digits of Pi.
See also
In Spanish: Día de π para niños
- Lists of holidays
- Mole Day
- Sequential time
- Square Root Day
- Doomsday rule
