Since 2002, SUNY Fredonia faculty members and students have been celebrating Pi Day as a way of recognizing the mathematical constant whose value is the ratio of any circle’s circumference to its diameter. Math enthusiasts all around the world observe March 14 as Pi Day due to its likeness to the first three digits of pi, 3.14.
Since March 14 falls during SUNY Fredonia’s Spring Break, the celebration and accompanying scavenger hunt have been scheduled for March 11. A majority of participants will be math students and faculty of SUNY Fredonia, but all campus and community members are invited to attend and/or participate.
This year's event is a pirate-themed (pi-rate, get it?) scavenger hunt. Teams of students will have all afternoon to find various treasures hidden around campus, often solving math problems in order to get clues. The hunt will begin at noon in the Fishbowl, the study room for math students, located in the middle of the math department in Fenton Hall. Teams will be given packets with clues to help them find the hidden treasures. At 6 p.m., the teams will all gather in McEwen 209 to show off their bounty. The three top teams will then engage in a tangram challenge to see who will win the coveted Pi Cup.
This annual celebration is coordinated by the Math Outreach Committee, comprised of professors of the Mathematical Science Department, including co-chairs Julia Wilson and Lan Cheng, Keary Howard, Bob Rogers, Kim Conti, Rebecca Conti, and Sandra Lewis, as well as graduate students Rachel Olson, Adam Frisbee, Valerie Kisiel, and Steven Collins.
Anyone who would like to compete on a team should contact Associate Professor Julia Wilson as soon as possible at julia.wilson@fredonia.edu or 716-673-3865. Requests for more information can also be directed to Wilson.
SUNY Fredonia’s Department of Mathematical Sciences helps prepare students for the lifelong study and use of mathematics. Its courses are designed to develop mathematical thinking and communication skills. The program also sharpens students’ abilities in quantitative and logical reasoning needed for informed citizenship and productive employment.
