The annual Pi Day celebration, organized by the Euclidean Math Club, will kick off Thursday March 12 in the Ross Center on the first floor of Faculty Hall.
Typically, the irrational number is celebrated on March 14, the date matching the first three digits of pi: 3.14.
This year Pi Day falls on the first Saturday of Spring Break, so the Euclidean Math Club moved the celebration up.
Physicist Larry Shaw organized the first Pi Day celebration at the Exploratorium in San Francisco in 1988.
In 2009 the United States House of Representatives supported the designation of Pi Day.
The best way to celebrate Pi Day is up to the individual but most versions include pie– the food and the number.
Participants eat pie, throw pie and discuss the significance of the number pi.
Colleges and museums, like the Museum of Mathematics in New York City, will hold competitions to see who knows the greatest amount of pi’s digits.
Traditionally, Massachusetts Institute of Technology mailed its application decision letters to prospective students for delivery on Pi Day.
However, three years ago they decided to change the announcement date and put their decisions online.
At Murray State, Demi St. John, president of the Euclidean Math Club, organized the day to include a pie-eating contest with snack cakes and the club’s own pi-digit competition.
She said they usually celebrate Pi Day with food and drinks, but they also have games and other entertainment prepared.
“We have a digit of pi contest to see who knows the most digits of pi,” St. John said. “And a final trivia contest.”
St. John said the contest is traditionally between members of the Honors Student Council and members of the Euclidean Math Club, but this year it will be between students and math professors.
She said the event was advertised for the entire math department, students and faculty, but anyone interested can attend.
Six delicious ways to celebrate Pi Day
Wear a pi T-shirt, get a temporary pi tattoo, or make pi designed jewelry to show off your affection for the irrational figure.
Have a pie-eating contest with your friends! Your stomach and your tastebuds will thank you.
Organize a “pi mile” run out in the warm spring weather, by running 3.14 miles with your friends. This is a great alternative for pi fans who are into exercise.
Have a baking party and make different flavored pies with your friends. The pies don’t all have to be just fruit – meat pies work too!
Compete with your friends to see who can recite the mosts digits of pi. You can up the ante by completing tasks while reciting.
Re-design a board game to honor pi. It’s easy to alter the cards in Cards Against Humanity and trivia games to be more pi-related. Let your creative juices flow!
Story by Nneka Maduewesi, Contributing writer, and Amanda Grau, News Editor