STEAM Activity: Celebrating Pi Day in a GIANT way!
Celebrating Pi Day in a GIANT way
Author: Dr. Azi Jamalian
I love math, mostly because it reminds me of good old childhood memories. My dad liked to play with numbers and so almost every night my brother and I would engage in some sort of math challenge/play with him. From playing backgammon and cards to solving his favorite math puzzle about this “Orange Seller” that was super confused about his count of oranges. I still remember the struggle I had to understand why 2 plus 2 equals 4 AND 2 times 2 equals 4 AND 2 to the power of 2 equals 4! I was in the second grade back then and we probably visited this topic every night for at least a month! Somehow my younger brother didn't have any issue understanding this puzzle (he was in the first grade). In fact, I’m still puzzled, less about the math, and more about my brother.
Pi Day is the international day of mathematics celebrated by math lovers all around the world. It was officially established in 2019, but the earliest celebration goes back to 1988 in San Francisco, originating from an annual gathering at Exploratorium museum celebrating the never-ending number, Pi, and Albert Einstein’s birthday! Larry Shaw, former museum staff physicist, tinkerer, and media specialist was the person behind it all. No wonder, one of my favorite places to visit almost every time I come to San Francisco is the Exploratorium museum!
This is how I got obsessed with circles and the number Pi (hence, the circular logo for The GIANT Room). To initiate this obsession, you need a ruler, a compass, a cardboard, a piece of paper, a marker, and a scissor. Draw as many circles in different sizes as you can on the cardboard using your compass. Cut out the circles using the scissors. Now you have so many fun wheels, faces, or whatever you want to imagine these circles to be!
Now, do this magic:
Using your marker, mark a random spot on the circumference of each circle. It could be at its top, bottom, or literally anywhere around it.
Next, place the circle on a piece of paper in a way that the mark is at the bottom of the circle touching the paper. Mark on the paper where that touching point is.
Roll the circle like a wheel on the paper, until the mark on the circle meets the paper again. Stop! Mark on the paper where the new touching point is.
Grab your ruler and measure the distance between the two touching points.
Divide that distance by the diameter of your circle, and I guarantee you’ll get the number 3.14159265359….. No matter what size circle you use!
Try it with a GIANT circle or a tiny one - the magic number will always be 3.14159265359….. And it’s never ending!
You want to see the surprise in your kids' eyes? Have them punch the numbers in a calculator and see their eyes spark every time they see that exact number 3.14159265359… Mathematician’s favorite never-ending number!
We have known about Pi for almost 4000 years, and it has probably ignited a love of math in millions, if not billions, and so a perfect way for math lovers to celebrate the beauty of mathematics every year.
One of favorite things for kids to play with are wheels - look into their toy box and I’m sure you can find many circular things including wheels and do magic with them! I guarantee you’ll hook them up in the wonders of mathematics for a few minutes, and hopefully for their lifetime!
Looking for more ways to celebrate Pi Day? Here are a number of GIANT suggestions:
Learn more how NASA uses Pi in its missions from landing on Mars to mapping unexplored worlds, and challenge yourself to solve NASA Math Problems.
If you are in NYC, visit the MoMath museum which has turned math into works of art you can interact with!
If you are in the San Francisco area, visit Exploratorium museum, where Pi Day first got celebrated!
Design and make something cool inspired by the symbol π! Maybe a pizza Pi Cutter, a Pi Soap (make them smell like your favorite pie!), or…