Happy World Pi Day!

What is International Day of Mathematics? On March 14th, countries from around the world will celebrate International Day of Mathematics. Also known as World Pi Day, this is an exciting time to celebrate maths and the famous number π with the date written in numerals is 3/14 or as a decimal 3.14.  The 2025 theme is Mathematics, Art, and Creativity. So how will you celebrate?   Making, eating, playing….

What is Pi?

Pi (Greek letter “π”) is the symbol used in mathematics to represent a constant — the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter — which is approximately 3.14159. 

Fun ideas to celebrate International Mathematics Day:

There are many different ways to celebrate World Pi Day! You can find out more at the International Mathematics Day website.

Classroom ideas to try:

• Penrose Tiling is a pattern of tiles using just two different shapes that can completely cover a plane in a pattern that is non-repeating. You can download a Penrose Tiling template and create your own World Pi Day poster. How will you colour your template? You could identify different shapes ("upside down star", "star in a circle", "star with petals", etc.) and use a different colour for each. It's possible to colour the tiling with only three colours without any two adjacent shapes having the same colour.
• Enjoy a Pie feast by making sweet pies or savoury pies. Have a baking competition at school or pie a selection of different pies to try. See if you can measure their circumference and area.
• Memorise the Pi sequence by singing along with the catchy The Pi song.
• Scavenger Hunt: Go on a playground walk and search for mathematically interesting things in the environment. Take pictures and identify mathematical concepts all around us.
• Explore the Maths Eyes posters on the Maths Hub website. Show your students a Maths Eyes picture prompt to stimulate discussion. Give them time to talk about what they see in the picture before asking a mathematical question.

Our Maths in Schools free online courses  include many ideas for connecting maths to the real world and making it fun!