Tuesday, March 14 (3/14) was recognized around the world as Pi Day. Pi is used in mathematics to represent the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter – approximately 3.14159. At Crescenta Valley High School, math teacher William Drew and his first and second period geometry classes celebrated the day by inviting the student body to approximate the circumference, volume and base area of a geodesic dome. Students made their guesses, submitted them and for their efforts received a cookie.
After tallying the written responses, the top three prizes were awarded to Edgar Hukassian for first place, followed by Robin Manui and Isaac Jung who tied for second place and Jonathan Pareder who came in third. Prizes included modest sets of technical drawing instruments (compasses, triangular templates, straight edges).
Drew came up with the idea as a visual way to show how math is used in everyday situations. He received funds from the Rotary Club to buy the dome, which was decorated with a mirror ball.

Photos by Mary O’KEEFE