Friday, March 9

3:14 pm: Pi Day Pricing Begins

Check out all the details on our PI DEALS page!

3:14 pm: Genius Accommodations check-in begins

Pi Day Princeton is the Olympics for Mathletes and Geeks! These hotels have some pretty clever ideas! Check out all the details on our ACCOMMODATIONS page!

6:30 pm: Guest speaker – Alan Lightman, author of Einstein’s Dreams – Princeton Public Library, Community Room

Alan Lightman will be speaking about the relationships between the sciences and the humanities.

Pi Day Book Group – Princeton Public Library, Community Room

This year’s Pi Day Book Pick is Einstein’s Dreams by Alan Lightman:

A modern classic, Einstein’s Dreams is a fictional collage of stories dreamed by Albert Einstein in 1905, when he worked in a patent office in Switzerland. As the defiant but sensitive young genius is creating his theory of relativity, a new conception of time, he imagines many possible worlds. In one, time is circular, so that people are fated to repeat triumphs and failures over and over. In another, there is a place where time stands still, visited by lovers and parents clinging to their children. In another, time is a nightingale, sometimes trapped by a bell jar.

Throughout the weekend the Library will be hosting a number of reading groups and will provide multiple copies of the book. Meeting times to be announced.

Saturday, March 10

11:00 am – 4:00 pm: Hourly Trolley Tours of Einstein’s Neighborhood and Office Park – Sponsored by Princeton Tour Company & Princeton Black Squirrel

This route will take you to Einstein’s residences and office building. Mimi Omiecinski, owner of Princeton Tour Company, will lead you through the famous streets while telling everything you wanted to know about Time Magazine’s Man of the Century. By the end of this tour, you’ll understand why Einstein called Princeton paradise!

30 minute tours – Admission is Free – First Come First Seated – Trolley leaves from Princeton Public Library every hour on the hour beginning at 10:00am until 4:00pm

10:00 am – 11:00 am: Suzuki Violin Contest – Princeton Public Library, Community Room – Sponsored by Princeton Symphony Orchestra

  • Friendly competition for ages 3yrs-6yrs
  • Contestants perform while dressed as Einstein!
  • Winning Contestant is awarded $314.15!
  • The first 31 contestants to register will be selected for the competition.

    Click here to register for Suzuki Violin Contest

10:00 am – 12:00 pm: Princeton University Art Museum

Did you know that the Princeton University Art Museum has artwork by contemporaries of Albert Einstein? The museum less than 2 city blocks away and now is a GREAT time to go to Princeton University campus and check out the works of Degas, Monet and Picasso FOR FREE!

11:00 am – 12:00 pm: Happy Birthday, Albert! at the Historical Society of Princeton

For children ages 6 – 12
Tickets: $5 child / $4 HSP members
158 Nassau Street, Princeton

Who was Albert Einstein? Learn about the public and private life of the famous scientist and humanitarian on a tour of Einstein at Home, featuring his own furniture and personal belongings. Then, play like Einstein – build a house of cards, solve puzzles and enjoy some cake!

Space is limited to 15 children. Please call 609-921-6748, x102 to reserve a space.

11:30 am: Mathlete Challenge – Princeton Public Library, Community Room – Facilitated by JoyCards & Princeton Tour Company

1:00 pm – 1:30 pm: PiKu – Princeton Public Library, 3rd Floor Children’s Section

  • Haiku is normally 5-7-5 but Piku is 3-1-4!

2:00 pm – 2:30 pm: Rubik’s Cube Challenge – Princeton Public Library, Community Room

  • Watch some of the area’s fastest Rubik’s Cube aficionados demonstrate their skills. Stay afterwards and learn how they mastered their craft!

3:30 pm – 5:00 pm: I HEART Pi Family Photo Op – Princeton Public Library, Fireplace Area

Move over Hollywood – this is Princeton’s genius version of a red carpet!  Families and friends pose in front of our official backdrop for the paparazzi.

4:00 pm – 5:00 pm: Happy Birthday, Albert! at the Historical Society of Princeton

For children ages 6 – 12
Tickets: $5 child / $4 HSP members
158 Nassau Street, Princeton

Who was Albert Einstein? Learn about the public and private life of the famous scientist and humanitarian on a tour of Einstein at Home, featuring his own furniture and personal belongings. Then, play like Einstein – build a house of cards, solve puzzles and enjoy some cake!

Space is limited to 15 children. Please call 609-921-6748, x102 to reserve a space.

4:00 pm – 6:00 pm: Geek Freak No-Socks Sock Hop at YWCA of Princeton – Sponsored by PiFight Band & YWCA of Princeton

Einstein didn’t particularly love to wear socks so we’re having a No-Socks Sock Hop! This brilliant rock and roll band, the official band of Einstein’s Alley, plays covers from the 60′s through today and is guaranteed to knock your socks off!

Tickets: $3.14 each
YWCA Princeton at 59 Paul Robeson Place, Princeton

7:30 pm: The Princeton Theatre Experiment and the Arts Council of Princeton present a staged reading of Peter Cook and William Lanouette’s historical play, “Uranium + Peaches”

“Uranium + Peaches” is the story of the meeting in Spartanburg, South Carolina of Manhattan Project scientists Leo Szilard and Harold Urey with influential politician James Byrnes, soon to become Secretary of State under President Truman. Szilard is the physicist who urged Einstein to write the letter to FDR which led to the beginning of America’s efforts to build the atomic bomb. Szilard and Urey are now visiting Byrnes urging him to persuade Washington not to use the atom bomb on Japan. It is late May 1945. Hitler committed suicide one month ago. The Allies have ended World War II in Europe. Does ending the war in Asia require such a weapon? Weigh the arguments of two sides that believe deeply in diametrically opposed positions.

The playwright William Lanouette will be at the reading and there will be a discussion afterward. Lanouette has had a long career as a writer and journalist. He has written for The Atlantic, The Economist, The Washington Post, and Newsweek. He is the former Washington correspondent for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and he has written “Genius in the Shadows: A Biography of Leo Szilard, The Man Behind the Bomb.”

Cast from professional New Jersey actors, the reading will be staged and directed by Todd Reichart, artistic director of the Princeton Theatre Experiment.

Tickets: $3.14 each (but $5.00 will be happily accepted)
Paul Robeson Center for the Arts, Solley Theater

Sunday, March 11

10:00 am – 12:00 pm: Princeton University Art Museum

Did you know that the Princeton University Art Museum has artwork by contemporaries of Albert Einstein? The museum is less than 2 city blocks away and now is a GREAT time to go to Princeton University campus and check out the works of Degas, Monet and Picasso FOR FREE!

11:00 am: Pie Eating Contest – McCaffrey’s, Princeton Shopping Center, at the sit down dining area

  • Contestant Age Groups: Youth 4yrs-8yrs and 9yrs-13yrs,
    Teen 14yrs-18yrs, Adult 19yrs and up.
  • Participants must sign waivers.
  • Minors must be accompanied by an adult.
  • Adults will consume a regular size pie.
  • Youths will consume a miniature size pie.
  • Those interested in competing are encouraged to register in advance. Those who attend without registering may have an opportunity to participate, but due to possible space and timing limitations, we cannot guarantee participation to anyone who is not registered by March 7.

    Click here to register for Pie Eating Contest

11:00 am – 12:00 pm: Happy Birthday, Albert! at the Historical Society of Princeton

For children ages 6 – 12
Tickets: $5 child / $4 HSP members
158 Nassau Street, Princeton

Who was Albert Einstein? Learn about the public and private life of the famous scientist and humanitarian on a tour of Einstein at Home, featuring his own furniture and personal belongings. Then, play like Einstein – build a house of cards, solve puzzles and enjoy some cake!

Space is limited to 15 children. Please call 609-921-6748, x102 to reserve a space.

12:00 pm – 1:11 pm: Dinky Train rides with Einstein

Start the Sunday festivities off right! Be like Einstein and ride the Dinky train into Princeton! Meet Einstein, his mother, first girlfriend, first wife, secretary and good friends. Be sure to ask “Einstein” where he is going on the train because sometimes he forgets! If you’ve ever had breakfast with Cinderella in the Disney castle, this event will give that memory a run for its money!

  • Departing Princeton Station – 12:00pm, 12:27pm, 1:00pm
  • Departing Princeton Junction Station – 12:11pm, 12:37pm, 1:11pm
  • $2.75 per adult each way, up to two kids (ages 5-11) can ride free with a passenger paying any valid fare

1:00 pm – ?: Pi Recitation Contest – Princeton Public Library, Community Room – Sponsored by Princeton University

2:30 pm: Pie Judging Contest at infini-T Cafe – Masterminded by Tamera Matteo of Matteo & Co. – Sponsored by infini-T Cafe

  • Move over Top Chef! It’s a GLOVES OFF competition in Princeton!
  • This year the residents of Princeton will determine the winner of the coveted “Best Princeton Pie” award.
  • Beginning at 2:30pm, the first 70 guests to arrive will be the judges. They will receive small samples of professionally baked pie submissions and choose the winning pie!
    infini-T Cafe, 4 Hulfish Street, Princeton

3:00 pm: Writer’s Block at the Arts Council of Princeton

  • Presenting scientific and not-so-scientific comic shorts and songs.

3:14 pm – 4:14 pm: Pie Throwing – Palmer Square Green – Sponsored by Palmer Square Management

  • Bring your favorite friend or frenemy to this hysterical event!
  • $1 per throw – All proceeds benefit 101, a non-profit volunteer organization dedicated to helping Princeton High School graduates in need of financial assistance for college.
    Click here to learn more about their great work.

3:30 pm – 5:00 pm: Einstein Re-Enactor Tours by Princeton Tour Company

Learn the chronological history of Albert Einstein as told by his family and friends.  Re-Enactors are “hidden” within local shops.  Tours start at Princeton Public Library where you pick up a map to find the first re-enactor – Einstein’s mother!  Get ready, she’s a pistol!

  • Pauline, Einstein’s mother
    played by Donna Renner – mother of co-founder of Pi Day Princeton
  • Marie, Einstein’s first girlfriend
    played by Allison Herring – Montgomery High School student
  • Albert Einstein
    played by Bill Agress – professional re-enacter for AT&T
  • Mileva, Einstein’s wife
    played by Jennifer Pirecki – therapist and super fan of Pi Day Princeton
  • Robert Oppenheimer
    played by Henry Vega – Administration, Princeton University Art Museum
  • Kurt Godel
    played by Dan Baeuer – Public Relations, McCarter Theater

4:00 pm – 5:00 pm: Happy Birthday, Albert! at the Historical Society of Princeton

For children ages 6 – 12
Tickets: $5 child / $4 HSP members
158 Nassau Street, Princeton

Who was Albert Einstein? Learn about the public and private life of the famous scientist and humanitarian on a tour of Einstein at Home, featuring his own furniture and personal belongings. Then, play like Einstein – build a house of cards, solve puzzles and enjoy some cake!

Space is limited to 15 children. Please call 609-921-6748, x102 to reserve a space.

5:00 pm: Einstein Look-A-Like Contest – Princeton Public Library, Community Room

  • Fun for all ages
  • Contestants may portray any age of Einstein.
  • Is Pi Day YOUR BIRTHDAY? You can be one of our lifetime judges!
  • Winning Contestant in youngest category is awarded $314.15!

    Click here to register for Einstein Look-A-Like Contest

    Wednesday, March 14

    Happy Birthday Einstein! Happy Pi Day!

    3:14 am & pm: Visit www.PiDayPrinceton.com

    • Find out winners of challenges
    • See photos and videos of the events
    • Congratulatory shout-outs to winners

    10:00 am – 10:45 am: Curator’s Tour of Einstein Exhibit at
    the Historical Society of Princeton

    A special exhibition featuring selected pieces of furniture from the Einstein Collection of the Historical Society of Princeton. Through these rarely seen objects, visitors will have the chance to glimpse the personal side of this world-famous scientist. Tour is free to the public.

    Space is limited to 20 people. Please call 609-921-6748, x102 to reserve a space.

    11:00 am & 2:00 pm: Walking Tour of Einstein’s Neighborhood

    You’ll see Albert Einstein’s homes (he lived in two places, not just 112 Mercer) while you hear all about his home life, his friendships with other genius (Robert Oppenheimer, Kurt Godel, and John von Nuemann – they lived in Princeton too) and Einstein’s remarkable humanitarian efforts as well!

    • $3.14 per person – All proceeds benefit the Princeton Public Library

    3:14 pm: Self Guided Geek Freak Pub Crawl

    Enjoy special drink deals celebrating Pi Day and Einstein’s Birthday

    Download for self guided pub crawl map available soon

    Movie Showing – Ball of Fire (1941) – Princeton Public Library, Community Room

    A fun movie about a team of stuffy academics living in New Jersey, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Gary Cooper.

Math doodles provided by Professor John Conway.