Thursday, March 14, is worldwide Pi Day. Get it? 3.14? Those are the first three digits of pi, the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. Math people celebrate by eating actual pie on that day. The California Strawberry Commission, based in Watsonville, offers resources for teachers who want to eat strawberry pie and talk about the fruit on or off a math break.
The commission has activity booklets for young children that include simple kid-friendly recipes. One sample: “Serve rosy applesauce by mixing halved fresh, or thawed frozen, sliced strawberries into applesauce.” Strawberry bookmarks give facts about the fruit, for example, “California grows more strawberries than any other place in the world!”
To order class sets of free activity booklets, placemats, bookmarks, posters, or to request math lessons for elementary school grades that are aligned with Common Core standards, call the California Strawberry Commission at 831-724-1301.
Meanwhile, check out these sites for Pi Day activities and ideas:
- The Exploratorium in San Francisco, where the first Pi Day was hosted back in 1988
- Popular Mechanics
- Virtual Pi Day 5K in Sacramento
- Sacramento City College