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A space-themed digital illustration featuring the mathematical symbol π, a satellite, a Mars helicopter, planets, a comet, and a slice of pie floating in space. The background is a gradient of purple with stars scattered throughout.

Collection .

Pi Day Activities for the Classroom

Students can solve some of the same problems NASA scientists and engineers do using pi!

Pi Day Activities for the Classroom - Home
Grades 4-6
Grades 7-8
Grades 9-12

Last Updated: March 6, 2025

Every year on March 14, Pi Day gives us a reason to enjoy our favorite sweet and savory pies and celebrate the mathematical wonder that helps NASA explore the universe. Students can join in the fun by using pi to explore Earth and space themselves with the NASA Pi Day Challenge.

What is Pi Day?

Dividing any circle’s circumference by its diameter gives you the mathematical constant pi (π), which is usually rounded to 3.14. In the United States, March 14 can be written as 3.14, which is why that date was chosen for celebrating all things pi!

You may already know all about pi and how it can be used to calculate things like the circumference of a circle or the volume of a sphere. But did you know pi is also used all the time by NASA scientists and engineers to explore other planets?

Explore our lessons and problem sets to solve some of the same problems NASA scientists and engineers do using pi!

  • How Many Decimals of Pi Do We Really Need?
  • 18 Ways NASA Uses Pi

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An illustrated scene of an asteroid with a cutout section, a satellite, and a space observatory on a desert-like planet. A computer screen displays density comparisons of ice, water, rock, and metal, analyzing the asteroid's composition.
Pi Day

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An illustration of NASA's DART mission showing a spacecraft impacting an asteroid in September 2022. The image depicts the asteroid’s original and new orbit, highlighting the change in its semi-major axis due to the impact.
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Two side-by-side images. Left: Voyager spacecraft near Jupiter, 1979. Right: Hubble Space Telescope near Jupiter, 2018. Both on pink backgrounds.
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Colorful graphic with pi symbol, first digits of pi, Earth, Voyager spacecraft, atoms, and silhouettes of two faces.
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