March 14 is celebrated as Pi Day, a day that invites math enthusiasts across the globe to indulge in their passion for numbers and concepts surrounding the famous mathematical constant, pi (π). This day not only honors the significance of pi in mathematics but also serves as a wonderful opportunity for educators to engage their students with a variety of hands-on activities. Here, we’ve compiled an extensive list of our favorite Pi Day activities that are both educational and infinitely entertaining, ensuring a fun-filled learning experience for students.
1. Pi Day Printables
Kick off your Pi Day celebration with our free Pi Day worksheet bundle. This collection includes print-and-go worksheets that explore the history of Pi Day, essential vocabulary, engaging reading practice, art activities, and fraction exercises.
2. Learn About the History of Pi Day
Established in 1988 by physicist Larry Shaw, March 14 was chosen as it represents the first three digits of pi (3.14). Additionally, it coincides with Albert Einstein’s birthday. Encourage your students to research and discuss questions such as:
- Why is Pi Day celebrated on March 14?
- How many years has Pi Day been celebrated?
- Whose birthday also falls on March 14?
- Who was the first to calculate pi?
3. Create Pi Day Graph Art
Let students graph the digits of pi on graph paper using their fingers dipped in colorful paint or with dot markers. This is especially fun for younger students.
6. Do the Math
Gather various circular objects such as coffee cans, pie tins, bowls, and CDs. Have students measure the diameter and circumference of each item, then divide the circumference by the diameter. They will be amazed to see the result approximates 3.14 every time. You can even measure round treats like cookies to wrap up the activity!
4. Create Pi Necklaces
Using a designated color code for each digit of pi, students can craft their unique pi necklaces using colorful pony beads on string.
5. Assemble a Pi Day Paper Chain
Similar to pi, paper chains can be endless in length and fun! Collaborate as a class to create a Pi Day paper chain, using different colors for each digit. Each colored link can symbolize a digit in pi. Schools have even attempted to set world records with their chains—how long can your class make theirs?
7. Roll Pi Digits with Dice
Display the first 10 digits of pi on the board. Using Tenzi dice or regular dice, challenge students to roll the digits of pi in order. Track how many rolls it takes to get the sequence right!
11. Play a Card Game
In this fun card game, students race to discard their cards by laying them out in the order of pi. Use a deck of cards with 10s, jacks, and queens removed; in this game, aces represent zero, and kings represent one. Each player starts with seven cards, drawing from the main deck when they can’t place a card. The first to discard all their cards wins!
8. Memorize the Digits of Pi with a Song
Did you know that record holder Suresh Kumar Sharma recited 70,030 digits of pi in a marathon session? Use YouTube to find a catchy song that teaches the first 100 digits of pi. Play it in the background while students work, and they’ll soon know it by heart!
9. Create a DIY Spirograph
This activity celebrates circles and the concepts of circumference and diameter—everything that leads to pi! Use a large circular object, like a masking tape roll, as the base. Cut smaller circles from plastic lids, punch holes in them, and use a marker to trace designs while rotating the smaller circle around the larger one.
10. Celebrate Albert Einstein’s Story
While Archimedes first calculated pi, it’s a delightful coincidence that Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879. Have students research this influential scientist and present their findings to the class. For younger students, On a Beam of Light by Jennifer Berne is a fantastic picture book biography!
16. Write Pi-ku Poems
Combine poetry with Pi Day activities by having students write their own “pi-ku” poems, which are inspired by the traditional haiku format but follow a different syllable pattern based on pi’s digits.
First line: 3 syllables
Second line: 1 syllable
Third line: 4 syllables
12. Measure Pi with Yarn
Discover the magic of pi with just string and scissors! Choose a circular object and wrap yarn around its circumference. Cut the yarn where it meets, and then use this piece to cut yarn strands equal to the diameter. Regardless of the object’s size, the circumference yarn will measure about 3 and 1/7 lengths—voilà, pi!
13. Create Paper Plate Pies
This activity is perfect for younger students who are not yet ready to grasp the concept of pi. Using paper plates and construction paper, kids can mix and match pieces to create their own “pies,” introducing them to circles and ratios in an engaging way.
Prepare for some groans and giggles with a collection of cheesy Pi Day jokes and puns. Challenge your students to come up with their own amusing quips!
17. Measure Around
Gather a variety of circular objects from your classroom or school. Using measuring tapes, have students measure each object’s circumference and diameter, recording their results on a chart. This activity reinforces the concept of pi by having them divide the circumference by the diameter, revealing how many calculations yield the value of 3.14.
18. Bake Some π Cookies
Get into the spirit of Pi Day by baking cookies shaped like the pi symbol using a pi-shaped cookie cutter. Let students help decorate them, and consider selling them as a fundraiser or enjoying them during your Pi Day activities.
22. Dress the Part
Encourage students and teachers to wear geeky attire in honor of Pi Day! Look for T-shirts featuring pi or, if you’re feeling crafty, create your own by cutting a pi shape out of iron-on vinyl using a die-cut machine or by hand.
24. Organize a Pi Day Fun Run
Did you know a 5k run is just short of 3.14 miles? This makes it the perfect distance to celebrate Pi Day! Don’t forget to offer pie as prizes for the winners!
19. Create Your Own Pi Puzzle
Students can create puzzles by writing evenly spaced digits of pi on index cards, decorating the other side, and then cutting the cards into puzzle pieces. They can pair up and see if they can piece each other’s puzzles back together using the number side or the decorated side.
25. Pass Out Pi Pencils
Reward your students for completing these engaging Pi Day activities with special pi-themed pencils. You can purchase premade pi pencils or create your own using a simple printing technique.
26. Create a “Stained-Glass” Pi Plate
This eye-catching craft is easy yet impressive! Cut out the center of a white paper plate and write as many digits of pi as you can around the rim. Tape a light-colored piece of tissue paper behind the hole, then glue colorful circles of tissue paper on the front to create a stained-glass effect.
20. Go Dotty!
Engage in a pointillism art project using dot markers or Q-tips and paint to create circles. Afterward, students can measure the circumference and diameter of their circles to see how their calculations relate to pi.
27. Read Happy Pi Day to You! and Make Pie Plate Hats
Happy Pi Day to You! by Bonnie Worth is a delightful read-aloud that encourages kids to think about and measure circles. To add to the fun, have students create pie plate hats inspired by the characters in the book using disposable pie plates!
28. Discover the Secret of Pi
Here’s a mind-blowing activity: write the number 3.14 in a special way using a triangular-shaped 4, and hold it up to a mirror. Students will be amazed to see how it reflects to spell “PIE”!
29. String a Pi Bracelet
Create a colorful bracelet by stringing pony beads onto a pipe cleaner, using the actual number of beads to represent each digit of pi. For example: 3 red beads, 1 white bead, 4 blue beads, etc.
30. Incorporate Pi into Your Movement Break
Need a physical activity? Create a workout routine based on pi! For instance, perform 3 jumping jacks, 1 deep breath, 4 push-ups, and repeat as you progress through the digits of pi.
21. Graph a Pi-Line Skyline
Using graph paper, students can graph the digits of pi, creating a bar graph that resembles a skyline. Encourage them to color in the buildings and the sky, perhaps adding pi-related constellations!
31. Go on a Circle Scavenger Hunt
Prepare a list of circular objects found in the classroom or around the school. Divide students into small groups, give them a time limit, and see how many they can find!
32. Create Pi-Inspired Art
Engage students in a fun connect-the-dots activity by creating a color key for each digit from 0 to 9. Using a printout of pi’s digits, students can create colored dots randomly and then connect them based on the color key to form a unique figure.
33. Share a Few Laughs
Explore our collection of humorous pi memes and share some nerdy math jokes with your students for a light-hearted break during Pi Day activities.
23. Have a Pi Word Challenge
Instead of a pie-eating contest, host a pi-writing challenge. Set a timer for three minutes and see how many words starting with “pi” your students can write. Examples include: pink, pimple, pizza, etc.
35. Rotate Through Pi Day Math Stations
Make Pi Day a celebration by setting up rotating math stations. Allow students to circulate through activities such as calculating circumference, identifying radius/diameter, solving word problems, and taking quick digital quizzes. Set a timer for each station to keep things moving!
36. Play a Roll-and-Calculate Game
For this engaging math activity, provide students with a pair of dice, paper, and pencils. They will roll the dice to generate a diameter, then calculate the circumference and area of the circle it represents. Challenge cards can be added for further learning.
37. Create Pi Mandalas
Students can use compasses and rulers to create intricate mandalas, labeling the radii, diameters, and angles within their designs, reinforcing their understanding of these geometric concepts.
34. Celebrate Pi Day with a Tasty Math Activity
What’s a kid’s favorite pie? Pizza pie! Engage students in a fun pizza math activity by giving each student a strip of paper, folding it accordion style, and labeling it with the digits of pi!
39. Build-a-Circle Challenge
Provide students with strings of various lengths, each representing a circle’s circumference. They must determine the diameter and draw the corresponding circle on paper, using the string to check their work.
40. Hold a Pi Relay Race
Divide students into teams and provide each with a set of increasingly complex pi word problems. Teams will race to solve each problem before tagging the next teammate, continuing until one team completes all their problems.
41. Play True or False: Pi Edition
Read statements like “All circles have the same circumference” aloud, prompting students to indicate whether they are true or false. Selected students should explain their reasoning, allowing for an engaging class discussion.
What are your favorite Pi Day activities for the classroom? Join our We Are Teachers HELPLINE group on Facebook to share!
Plus, check out these Free Spring Bulletin Board Kits.
