Pi Day 2015 | Pi Day Art Project

Did you know that this is a special year for Pi?

What is Pi?

Pi is the sixteen letter of the Greek alphabet, and it’s also a symbol used to describe the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, meaning that pi equals the circumference divided by the diameter (π = c/d). The interesting this about pi is that mathematicians who have been working on this number believe that it is infinite, meaning that it’s not the quotient of two integers. In other words, the number pi goes on and on and on, and we don’t know where it ends!

So, the number “pi” begins with the numbers 3.14159265, and goes on and on infinitely (so we think). Computers have been cranking away at the number for a while now, trying to figure out just how big it is (and if it will ever stop), and according to Number World, the number has been computed up to 10 trillion digits. Wow!

Pi Day 2015

To celebrate this special number, every year math enthusiasts around the world celebrate Pi Day on March 14, or 3-14, in honor of the first three digits of Pi. The next two digits, following the 3.14, are 15, making this a banner year for Pi that won’t be revisited for another 100 years: 3.14.15, or 3.1415. Yay for Pi!

My 6-year old is fascinated by math and has been talking up a storm about Pi for a while now, so I asked her to help me come up with an idea to celebrate Pi Day 2015. After a bit of brainstorming, she came up with this fun drawing prompt that uses the first five digits of Pi.

Pi Day Art Project for Pi Day 2015

We created a printable that you can download here. The little picture of the piece of pie (pi) is courtesy of my daughter.

The instructions read:

Happy Pi Day! To celebrate the infinite quality of Pi, there are infinite ways to fill in these boxes. Choose 3 colors and give yourself 14 minutes to design 15 boxes however you like.

Take note: We originally made this with 25 boxes (oops),  but that’s been corrected in the printable download 🙂

I had fun filling in the boxes with a pattern of straight lines and curved lines, while my daughter filled out each row of her’s with different patterns: hearts, names, solid colors, grids, and punctuation marks.

Share this on Instagram

Would you like to share this with other Pi Day enthusiasts, and see how they interpret the prompt? At the VERY BOTTOM of the printable, it reads: Tag your page on Instagram with #pidayart 

DIY Pi Day Art Project

If you’d rather do a bit of extra math for your Pi Day Art Project, you could make a grid on a piece of paper, and then cover the grid with colorful tape. My daughter came up with this idea and thought it was far more fun.

We measured the tape to get an idea of how big our grid should be, and then worked together to draw a grid and attach the tape. Once that was done, the pi day art activity was pretty much the same as the above prompt.

How are you celebrating Pi Day 2015? Are you making lots of Pie? Here are some favorite Pi Resources…

Pi Day Art Activities and Resources

• The Exploratorium has a bevy of Pi-related information, and if you’re in the San Francisco area, they also have a big Pi Day Celebration. Usually with Pie! Yum.
• What do we do all day has created a fantastic Pi Day Skyline Activity. I love it.
• Pink Stripey Socks has a fun Pi Day Art activity that includes dots and lines. So pretty!
• Fizz, Pop, Bang! Playful Science and Math Activities e-book is full of more ideas like this one.

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