San Francisco’s Exploratorium is gearing up for Pi (π) Day on March 14, 2023 from 11am-3pm! The beloved and famous event features math-inspired activities and a high-spirited Pi Procession with free pie for all.
The 2023 festivities include performances from local 12-piece brass band Mission Delirium, pie from Pietisserie, and presentations about Pi and why we celebrate it.
During the Pi Procession at 2pm, a crowd of people carrying digits of Pi will circle the Pi Shrine 3.14 times while dancing along to music from a live brass band. Participants will then sing “Happy Birthday” to Albert Einstein (and Steph Curry) and enjoy a free slice of pie after the parade.
The celebration will also honor the late John Sims, a math artist from Sarasota, FL who contributed his work to the Exploratorium’s Pi Day celebrations in 2020 and 2021.
“John deeply impacted the museum’s commitment to including everyone in arts and math education,” said Sam Sharkland, Senior Program Developer at the Exploratorium. “He embraced the always-growing and evolving Pi community, and worked to ensure that Pi Day was welcoming and open to all.”
Exploratorium employee and physicist Larry Shaw founded Pi Day back in 1988. It has since grown into a nationwide holiday and was designated as the International Day of Mathematics in 2019. This year marks the Exploratorium’s 36th annual celebration of the holiday.
Pi, denoted by the symbol π, is a mathematical constant referring to the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. Its decimal representation is infinite and it never enters a pattern, but the first part of Pi is 3.14159… Mathematicians have attempted to calculate it with more and more accuracy over 4,000 years, but the numbers never end!
Grab tickets to the Exploratorium on March 14, 2023 between 11am-3pm to enjoy Pi Day in all its glory. Find the Exploratorium at Pier 15 of the Embarcadero.