UP Public Library Cooks Up Some Pi Day Fun

The University Park Public Library celebrated Pi Day – the holiday honoring the world’s favorite mathematical constant – March 14 with a variety of (paper) pie baking and building activities for its youngest patrons.

Crafters could choose between cooking up either a sweet pie, complete with cotton ball whipped cream, or pizza pie with a variety of toppings. Lego fans could use blocks to represent the first digits of the irrational number, which begins with 3.14 and continues infinitely.

Four-year-old Jane Ritchie went to work at the pizza pie station, where she loaded up her pizza with pepperoni, mushrooms, basil, ham, tomatoes, and green peppers. Her favorite at home is actually cheese, Jane said.

Nearby, a two-year-old baker replaced the broccoli on her pizza with pineapple slices, which she mistakenly thought were donuts.

Jane’s grandmother, Mindy Ritchie, suggested Jane glue her pizza to a plate so that they could carry it home. All her grandchildren, Ritchie said, look forward to trips to the library. “They love getting their books and taking them home,” she said. “It’s just been a joyful place for them.”

Youth services librarian Zoe Williams said she hoped the library’s math-themed activities made the subject more accessible and interactive for its young guests.

“When they do get older, if they hear about Pi in math class, maybe it’ll make a connection or jog something,” she said. “You see circles in so many places in your life, and to just understand a little bit more about how they work is cool.”

The library’s Pi Day festivities were part of a week of spring break fun. Other activities included an educational program on rockets with Sci-Tech Discovery Center, and a lesson for tweens and teens on making succulent teacup planters.

Library activities will continue once the kids go back to school. On the calendar for later in March are a centennial cityscape elementary explorers program from 4 to 5 p.m. on March 20, traditional Japanese storytelling from 3 to 4 p.m. on March 23, and solar eclipse story time at the HPISD digitarium from 10:30 to 11 a.m. on March 27. 

The library’s Bunnies in Disguise Scavenger Hunt, which started during spring break, is also slated to continue the week of March 18. Click HERE to view the library’s calendar of events.