Albert Einstein’s Birthday is on March 14th, and coincidentally, it’s also “World Pi Day!” The mathematical symbol Pi (the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter or 3.14159…) is celebrated on Einstein’s Birthday, March 14th (3.14).
Celebrate all week long with fun activities that enhance students’ understanding of math and science with the information at today’s websites…
Oh, and don’t forget to celebrate by eating a piece of pie today, March 14 at 1:59 PM (3.14159…)! :)
Recommended Websites:
Einstein for Kids
Einstein is considered to have had one of the greatest science and math minds ever! At this site you will find links to wonderful sites to explore every stage of Einstein’s life. To get your kids interested in Einstein consider telling them that he was a genius — but that he didn’t talk until he was 3, he hated school and thought it was boring, he left school at 15 because of bad grades, and he wanted to study at the university but couldn’t pass the entrance exam! Nevertheless, at age 26 he published the Theory of Relativity, the quantum theory of light, and proved that energy and matter are linked in the physics relationship of E=MC².
When you get to the site look at the menu on the left. For the best biographical information about Einstein’s life click on “Einstein — Image and Impact.”
Then, for a really interesting discussion of why Einstein is considered to be so smart — click on “How smart was he?”
Finally, to engage in some interactive puzzles that will really stretch your thinking click on “Think Like Einstein.”
List member Sally recommended the following website to celebrate World Pi Day:
Math Educators of Greater Saint Louis
This website may be the granddaddy of all Pi websites. It explains that 2006 is the 300th Anniversary of the introduction of the mathematical symbol p. The sixteenth letter of the Greek alphabet, p, was first used for the familiar value 3.14 in the publication, “Synopsis Palmariorium Mathesios”, authored by William Jones in 1706. In honor of that anniversary and World Pi Day, this site offers all kinds of FREE downloadable lessons and activities. The site also maintains an archive of links to Pi math problems, discussions, and unique, fun, and innovative ways to investigate Pi for students of all ages.
You may even find some of the websites about Pi that we’ve featured in the past on ClickSchooling such as:
Math Forum: Pi Day
Basic information and trivia about Pi
An extensive web warehouse of info about Pi
Have fun! :)
