by Susan Jarema
Googol Learning
http://www.googollearning.com
Math lovers, teachers and families around the world are gearing
up to celebrate Pi Day on March 14, or more precisely to the pi
second, 3/14 (the American date format) at 1:59:26 p.m.
Pi or and#960;, approximately equal to 3.1415926, is one of the
most important mathematical constants. It represents the ratio of
any circle's circumference to its diameter. The Greek letter
and#960;, often spelled out as pi, was adopted as a symbol for
the number from the Greek word for perimeter,
"and#960;and#949;and#961;and#943;and#956;and#949;and#964;and#961
;and#959;and#962;."
"If there was just one day that screams math party, March 14
would have to be it," says Susan Jarema, founder of Googol
Learning who always looks for ways to make math more exciting for
children. Coincidently, March 14 is also Albert Einstein's
birthday, which offers math lovers the chance to discuss famous
discoveries that have been proved through mathematics.
"To me Pi Day is not only a day to celebrate math, it also
recognizes the historical progress of our universal language of
mathematics," comments Jarema. Pi dates back more than 4,000
years, when it was used by the Babylonians and Egyptians. In the
third and fourth centuries B.C., great thinkers such as
Archimedes, Ptolemy and Euclid came up with their own estimates
and proofs. Today, supercomputers are able to estimate pi with
precision to over a trillion digits.
Besides March 14, there are other days to celebrate pi. Pi
Approximation Day may be observed on several dates, but the most
popular is July 22 (22/7 using the European date format-just
divide 22 by 7 to estimate pi). Another favourite day to observe
pi is November 10 (the 314th day of the year), or November 9 in a
leap year. You could also celebrate Pi in December on the 355th
day of the year at 1:13 p.m., for the Chinese approximation
355/113 (divide 355 by 113 to arrive at an estimate of pi).
The first recognized Pi Day celebration was held March 14, 1988,
at the San Francisco Exploratorium, where the staff and public
marched around in a circle and ate fruit pies. Now, many
organizations, countless websites and thousands of classrooms
host celebrations. Pi enthusiasts in the math community take
pride in memorizing pi and coming up with higher estimates of its
digits.
Jarema created the award-winning musical Googol Power Math Series
to make learning math fun for children. Since then, she has built
a free-content website that shares ways to make math exciting.
She offers 10 helpful ideas to make Pi Day a special celebration
for your students or family.
1. Write and sing a song or poem about pi.
2. Watch, listen or read other songs, poems or videos about pi.
3. Do math activities to estimate pi.
4. Make a pi necklace.
5. Stand in a circle and chant pi!
6. Play pi on the pi-ano.
7. Find out who holds the current record for most digits
memorized and practice memorizing the digits of pi yourself.
8. Convert things into pi (i.e., what is your pi age?)
9. Have a Pi Day party with pi-zza, pi-e and pi-neapple juice,
and don't forget a pi- ñanta.
10. End the day with a pi walk, run or hike (3.14 km or miles) to
burn off all the pi-e!
Visit Googol Learning's website at www.googolpower.com to check
out its Pi Day resource section and for many more free resources
to help increase your child's interest in math.
Let's make March 14 a Pi Day to remember!
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Susan Jarema is the founder of Googol Learning and the
Crazy 4 Math Contest (http://www.crazy4math.com). The
Learning with Googol Power Website has many free resources
to inspire mathematics and family learning in your home
through music, games, stories and layered learning. Visit
http://www.googolpower.com for more information on workshops,
presentations, the award winning Googol Power Math Series
and Discovery Multiplication Program.
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