This year, PI-E Day falls on a Saturday, so it’s sure to be a huge celebration here in the Jersey City area. Pi Day is celebrated in various places, but in New Jersey, it is called “PI-E Day” because it was begun by two local women who incorporated the homophones of “pi” and “pie” for a double entendre.
Pi, as we know, is a Greek letter, which refers to the mathematical symbol π, and is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. 3.14 is the number usually used; although, being an irrational number, its decimal digits continue into infinity. Math freaks are excited this year because the next two numbers in the sequence are 1 and 5. Get it? 3.1415 – 3/14/15? That won’t happen again for a hundred years!
Well, these two women from Jersey City, Gabby Creery and Lissa Welles, have figured out a fun way to make all of this math talk relevant to kids. As I said, they took the homophones and combined them into a fun filled day at Liberty Science Center. They serve pie! But that’s just the beginning.
The celebration takes in almost any area that will interest the youngsters. There are pi games, face painting with π being a favorite element, music themes incorporating pi, and lots of arts and crafts with mathematical features. Then, there are the pies, which will be sold at the Pie Cafe and other pie inspired events, including a pie baking contest.
Laura Overdeck will be the special guest of this year’s celebration. She will read from, and sign copies of her new book, Bedtime Math: The Truth Comes Out. She will also have some fun projects using interesting manipulatives.
Jersey City isn’t the only place in New Jersey that gives more than one meaning to the day. Down in Princeton, New Jersey they have the math and the pie eating celebrations, of course. However, 3/14 is also the birthday of Albert Einstein, and since he was there for over twenty years at the Institute for Advanced Studies, he is incorporated heavily into the celebration. There is even an Albert Einstein look alike contest there.
How will you celebrate PI-E Day?
Edward