Watch CBS News

Best Ways To Celebrate "Pi" Day (March 14) In The South Bay

Twenty four years ago, physicist Larry Shaw, of San Francisco's famous Exploratorium Museum, initiated Pi Day on March 14. Pi, we all hopefully remember from high school geometry, is the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, approximately equal to 3.14159. It fascinates scientists and mathematicians because it has an infinite number of decimals in a never-repeating pattern. Pi Day is an opportunity to celebrate two things: a love of science and (why not?) a love of pie. You can celebrate by visiting one of the South Bay's excellent science museums and, of course, eating some delicious pie. If the kids are busy at school on March 14, we don't mind if you cheat a little and celebrate on the weekend. What's a day or two off schedule between friends when you are celebrating an infinite number? Here are a few suggestions:
Computer History Museum
www.computerhistory.org

Computer History Museum
1401 N. Shoreline Blvd.
Mountain View, CA 94043
(650) 810-1010
www.computerhistory.org

This fascinating museum is the world leader in the field of computer history. Exhibits demonstrate a history of computers going back a shocking 2,000 years. Artifacts include thousands of items, from ancient calculators to medical computers such as pacemakers, and everything in between. Located in what was once the headquarters of Silicon Graphics, the Computer History Museum is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to geek out. 

NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View
NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View (NASA)

NASA Ames Exploration Center
158 Cody Road
Mountain View, CA 94035
(650) 604-5000
www.nasa.gov

If you prefer outer space to cyber space, the NASA Ames Exploration Center will prove delightful. The Ames facility has contributed to many NASA projects. Much of NASA's history is documented in this small but mighty museum. Interactive exhibits cover a variety of subjects in astronomy and space travel. The Exploration Center features the largest immersive theater on the West Coast, featuring 3D effects projected on a curved 40-foot-wide screen.

sj tech museum
The Tech Museum (www.thetech.org)

The Tech Museum of Innovation
201 S. Market St.
San Jose, CA 95113
(408) 294-8324
www.thetech.org

The Tech is an award-winning science museum with hundreds of exciting exhibits. It also hosts a wide variety of some of the most exciting traveling exhibits in the science world. The museum has a distinctive series of specialized galleries, such as the Health and Biotech Gallery, the Silicon Valley Innovation Gallery and more. Even better, most of the exhibits are hands-on. Where else can you enter a genetics laboratory and grow your own jellyfish? 

Related: Best Ways To Bring Middle Earth To South Bay

Pie Ranch 2
www.pieranch.org

Pie Ranch
2080 Cabrillo Highway
Pescadero, CA 94060
(650) 879-0995
www.pieranch.org

Did you think we forget about your tummies? No way! The Pie Ranch may be the ultimate pie/PI destination. This working fruit ranch is in the shape of pie, and is designed to model a center of sustainable farming and food education. Here you get the perfect combination of science (Pi) and eating (pie). Volunteer docents and staff will educate you on farming technology and the many scientific and social issues involved with food delivery. And, yes, Pie Ranch does make some of the best pie you've ever tasted, with the freshest ingredients right off the tree.

Heidi's Cherry Pie
http://www.heidipies.com

Heidi's Pies
1941 S. El Camino Real
San Mateo, CA 94403
(650) 574-0505
www.heidipies.com

This amazing slice of Americana is the roadside restaurant of your dreams. It'll make you nostalgic for places you've never been. Heidi's is every diner you've ever loved, in real life, in the movies, or on TV. The food is simple, classic, cheap and ample. And the pies? Trust us, you'll want a second helping. Don't forget to take a pie for the road!

Related: South Bay's Best Community Theatre

Charles Kruger is well known in the Bay area as "The Storming Bohemian" ever since he entered the Bay Area cultural scene in the summer of 2009, attending 90 cultural events in 90 days and blogging about it. This project was successful enough to warrant a mention in The New York Times. His coverage of Bay area theatre can be found at Examiner.com.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.