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Pi Day STEAM Activity - Paper Bracelets

  • Writer: Amy Wung Tsao
    Amy Wung Tsao
  • Mar 1, 2025
  • 2 min read

Updated: Mar 7

Easy STEAM Craft for Pi Day

Compilation of four photos: top-left photo of marker marking the width of a child’s wrist on a paper strip; top-right photo of paper strip folded accordion style, sections labeled 1, 2, 3; bottom-left photo of paper strip cut; bottom-right photo of child’s arm wearing paper strip taped around their wrist. Title reads “Pi Day Bracelets.”

Celebrate Pi day with more than just pizza for dinner and pie for dessert! 


While your pizza is baking in the oven, here is a quick and easy Pi Day STEAM craft that teaches your kids the magical mathematical meaning of pi. 


Just what, you ask, is the magical mathematical meaning of pi again?  


A circle’s circumference divided by its diameter is always pi. Doesn’t matter how small or big the circle!











And that’s why we can use pi to measure out the perfect size paper bracelets.

Here’s how:

Pi Day Bracelet Materials:

Photo of Pi Day bracelet craft materials: markers, scissors, tape, and paper strips.

  • Strips of paper or cardstock

  • Scissors

  • Tape

  • Markers for decorating


Pi Day Bracelet Instructions:


Here's a 1-minute video of this craft in action, but keep scrolling for full instructions details with step-by-step photos!


Step 1:

Place your wrist on a paper strip, and mark how wide your wrist is. (That’s the diameter of your bracelet.)

Photo of Pi Day bracelet activity step 1 - marking the width of your wrist on a paper strip.

Photo of Pi Day bracelet craft step 1 - paper strip with the width of your wrist marked.

Over the next couple steps, we’re going to multiply this diameter by pi to cut the paper strip just the right length for your bracelet. (That's the circumference of your bracelet.)


Step 2

Fold the strip of paper where you made your mark. Then fold it, accordion style, one more time. You can label these sections 1, 2, 3 if you’d like. Now you’ve got a strip of paper that’s 3 times as long as your wrist diameter.


Photo of Pi Day bracelet craft step 2 - paper strip folded up into 3 sections marked 1, 2, 3.

Step 3

Remember pi isn’t 3, it’s 3.14. So we need a strip of paper that’s a bit more than 3 times longer than your wrist diameter. So add a bit more decoration to your paper strip.


Photo of Pi Day bracelet craft step 3 - paper strip now decorated with ".14" after the "3".

Feel free to decorate it more.

Photo of Pi Day bracelet craft step 3 - paper strip decorated with sections 1, 2, 3, and .14.

Step 4

Cut out the decorated part of the paper strip. 


Photo of Pi Day bracelet activity step 4 - paper strip with the decorated portion cut out.

Step 5

Tape it over your wrist. Thanks to the magic of pi, it should be just about the right length to fit!




Collage of 6 images, titled "Pi Day STEAM Activities" - Compilation of 6 photos - (1) Hand coloring concentric circles, (2) Text “Maths of a Circle” on top of concentric circles, (3) Child’s arm wearing paper bracelets that read 3.14, (4) Tape measure measuring the diameter of a coffee mug, (5) numbers 1, 2, 3, and .14159 written around a sliced orange half, (6) Cover of the book “Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi.”

After you're done with your bracelets, check out more Pi Day activities here, including a kid challenge to "break" pi?



















And if you want even more ways to spark STEM curiosity in kids -

Child's hands holding a square card that reads "What would it be like to swim in a pool filled with gravy?" There are other cards on the table, including a title card that reads "Silly Science Conversation Starters" with the STEM Through Story and Play logo.

Grab my free Silly Science Conversation Starter Cards — printable cards packed with quirky, thoughtful questions that get kids thinking like engineers and scientists. (Just print and go!)











I wish you a delicious and crafty Pi Day!


Keep lighting sparks of curiosity,

Amy Wung Tsao


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