11 Fun Pi Day Activities That Don’t Feel Like Homework (Promise!)

Does the date March 14 ring a bell with you? Best known as Pi Day, 3/14 is the celebration of the number that begins with 3.14159 … and never ends. Pi (π) is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. Or, in other words, just divide the distance around the outer edge of a circle by the distance straight across it, and you’ll always get the same number — about 3.14 — no matter the circle’s size. Simple, right? Not quite. Pi is an irrational number, meaning it can’t be written as a simple fraction, and its digits go on indefinitely.

When I was a kid, there was no such thing as Pi Day. Maybe that explains my lackluster feelings about math. The holiday only began in 1988, when physicist and curator Larry Shaw at San Francisco’s scientific museum, The Exploratorium, noticed the link between March 14 (3/14) and 3.14159… Add that it’s also Albert Einstein’s birthday, and mathematicians suddenly had reason to celebrate.

Nearly 40 years later, Pi Day is packed with pie (the dessert kind), as well as crafts, games, and activities that help a new generation celebrate this mysterious, arguably most-famous number. Try these 11 math activities for kids of all ages, from early education through middle school.

For those too young to calculate pi, focus on the circle. Hide circular objects around the room, and have kiddos search for them. As they find each object, name it. The child who finds and correctly names the most circles wins.

Supplies: colored beads, pipe cleaners or string, scissors

With this fun fraction necklace or bracelet idea for Pi Day (demonstrated by Maths Week Scotland on YouTube), you represent the digits of pi with beads. Assign each digit of pi a color (for example: 3 = blue, 1 = pink, 4 = yellow, 5 = purple, 9 = white). String beads onto a string or pipe cleaner to match each digit. For 3.14159, add three blue beads, one pink bead, four yellow beads, five purple beads, and nine white beads. Continue for as many digits as you like. Tie the string ends or twist together the pipe cleaner ends to secure the jewelry. 

Introduce younger children to the concept of pi through stories. Read aloud books like Dr. Seuss’ Happy Pi Day to You! All About Measuring Circles by Bonnie Worth, and Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi by Cindy Neuschwander. After reading, talk about what pi means, and briefly explain how it’s calculated. Demonstrate how to measure and draw circles.

Supplies: paper and marker, pen, or pencil

It’s hard to draw a great circle! But @petefirman shares a trick on TikTok: Hold a pen or pencil like you’re about to write, then place your pinky knuckle on the center of the paper and keep it there, using it as a pivot point. Touch the tip of the pen to the paper. Keeping your pinky in place, slowly rotate the paper to draw a circle. Voilà!

Supplies: paper, marker, pencil, ruler

To do this fun educational activity from @marisadenicolamath on TikTok, you start by putting a large dot in the center of the paper. Choose a radius (for example, 2 inches). Measure that distance from the center with a ruler, and mark dots in several directions — left, right, top, and bottom — and add more dots between them, all the same distance from the center, over and over. You don’t even need to connect the dots to form the circle.

Supplies: paper plates, markers or crayons, construction paper, glue, scissors

Decorate paper plates like pies, then cut them into slices to represent fractions using this clever activity from creator Anna of The Imagination Tree. Write the fraction on each slice. Mix the slices together on a table, and have kids find the matching pieces that combine to make a whole pie. Tip: Challenge kids to combine slices to make a specific fraction instead of a whole pie.

Ask your kids to memorize this sentence, courtesy of TikToker @thattrendyteacher: Can I bake a fresh blueberry pi, mixing flour and sugar? Write it down, and count the letters in each word (ignore spaces and punctuation). The numbers form 3.1415926535 — pi to 11 digits!

Supplies: circular objects (mug, can, planter, pan), string or yarn, ruler, pencil, paper

TikToker @mrallenmath creates a student competition with this activity, but you can also do it with your kids just for fun. To begin, collect several circular objects of various sizes. Wrap string around one of the objects to measure its circumference. Measure the diameter with a ruler, then divide the circumference by the diameter — you should get a number close to 3.14. Try several objects, and compare results.

Supplies: ruler, toothpicks, paper, pencil

Draw two parallel lines on the paper spaced two toothpicks apart. Toss a ton of toothpicks onto the page. Count the total number of toothpicks on the paper only — don’t count any that land outside or cross over the edge of the page. Then count the number of toothpicks touching the lines. Divide the total (first number) by the second (those touching a line). The result should be close to pi, as TikTok account @seeker demonstrates. Tip: Repeat to see how close you can get to 3.14.

For older kids, download and print digits of pi far beyond 3.14159. Let them study the sheet for 3 to 5 minutes. Put it away, then have them write down as many digits as they remember in order. 

A few fun ways to remember the numbers include singing a song or figuring out a memorization cadence that works for you (for example, remembering digits in groups of three, three, and four, like a phone number). 

The most universal way to celebrate Pi Day? Enjoying pie! Give each child a mini pie, scooter pie, whoopie pie, oatmeal creme pie, fruit tart, or other type of pie. Have kids measure the diameter and circumference first. Older kids can calculate pi… then everyone eats!