Today on March 14th, math enthusiasts and geeks of all stripes are celebrating Pi Day because the date (3/14) matches the first three digits of the irrational number that plays an essential role in many scientific and engineering calculations. The origins of Pi Day can be traced back to 1988, when Larry Shaw organized the first event at the Exploratorium, a hands-on science and technology museum in San Francisco, CA, where he worked as a staff physicist and tinkerer. The Exploratorium continues to celebrate Pi Day with their traditional Pi March, tea and pie ceremony, and brain-bending activities for all ages. Visit https://www.exploratorium.edu/pi/ for details.
Princeton, New Jersey has double cause to celebrate because it’s also the birthday of their most celebrated citizen, Albert Einstein. The town has gone Pi-crazy every year since 2009, shortly after Mimi Omiecinski moved to Princeton and became strangely possessed by All-Things-Princeton. That year, Mimi approached the Princeton Public Library and they agreed to host the first celebration. It was such a large success that the activities grew to include many local businesses, the public schools, and even Princeton University.
For 2018, Princeton’s Pi Day Events include
- Einstein Look A Like Contest*
- Pre-Teen Pi Recitation Contest (the most digits)*
- MakersFaire Robotics Competition*
- Pizza Pie Eating Contest – winner receives free pizza for a year
- Cupcake Eating Contest – winner receives free cupcakes for a year
- Best Apple Pie Baker – professional chef gets bragging rights for a year
*(Winner receives $314.15)
For the non- competitive types, there are Surprise Birthday Parties and Dinky Rides with Einstein, a Pi-Rade, a children’s violin demonstration, family friendly self-guided Grub Crawls, a Pi Day inspired family movie and professionally guided tour of Einstein’s neighborhood.
Many other brainy places are celebrating Pi Day, including NASA, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratories. If you know of a Pi Day event you’d like to share with PD&D’s readers, please post it in the comments section, or write me at lee.goldberg@advantagemidia.com.
