Long Beach High students celebrate life of Pi

LONG BEACH, MS (WLOX) - There's already apple pie and most recently, the movie "Life of Pi". But on Thursday, March 14th, another "Pi" is getting all the attention. March 14 (3/14) is "American Pi-Day". This Pi refers to the number 3.14. It's a day set aside to celebrate mathematics, but it's not just for math whizzes anymore.

Long Beach High hosted a day-long fair Thursday to celebrate those famous digits.

"Pi is approximately 3.14 and today is March 14, so we celebrate Pi Day on 3.14," said Physics teacher Karen Stockbridge.

Students ran a 3.14-legged race and they tossed paper airplanes through a Pi-hole.

The school's Physics class and Math and Science Team manned the 25-stations.

"We're trying to show them that math and science isn't just sitting and crunching numbers into a calculator. It's not just boring stuff. It can be used in creative fun ways," said senior Lakelyn Taylor.

About 500 students took on a number of math challenges, and they learned how science can help explain an oil spill's impact.

"We're doing a density lab where you have different bottles and the oil floats to the top and on the bottom. On the Gulf Coast we had the oil spill, and so a lot of people can relate to the oil is on the top. It's very damaging to the sea life beneath, and that's a way you can relate that to real life," said Taylor.

They even put Newton's Laws of Motion to the test.

"We have a little car and a person on it, and they roll it and the person will keep going unless something stops it like a seat belt. So people can see first-hand how a seat belt is necessary for you to survive in a car crash," said senior Kaylie Naghshpour.

Engineering skills came in handy to build a tower of spaghetti and marshmallows. And remember the old tablecloth trick?  The students had to pull a piece of paper from between two glass bottles without dropping them.

Many students seemed to enjoy this taste of Pi.

"It's to get students interested in engineering and math majors to help further the technology in our world," said senior Zachary Longino.

"I think hands-on activities for kids really help them learn about the math and science concepts that they need to know, and it also gives them a chance to see that it can be fun," said Stockbridge.

The event was Long Beach High's third Pi-Day celebration.

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