Science Ambassadors’ Pi Day Celebration Takes Flight in Windy Climate
Photo Courtesy of Science Ambassadors
The Science Ambassadors launched the stewardship’s inaugural paper airplane competition in celebration of Albert Einstein's 145th birthday on March 14. The Barefoot Times talked to Emily Hodges ’24, Chair of Science Ambassadors, the day before the competition occurred. “It’s something that’s simple [and] everyone knows what a paper airplane is like,” she explained. “I’m sure everyone’s made a paper airplane at some point in their life. I think it’s just something fun that is very accessible for everyone.”
But why did the competition happen in the first place? Well, March 14 is not only Albert Einstein’s birthday, but also Pi Day. Science Ambassador committee member and Airplane Contest organizer Sam Almo-Milkin ’25 explained the reason for combining the two celebrations into one fun event: “We thought we should do something for Pi Day. Kevin [Delin] said, ‘No, we’re doing something for Albert Einstein’s birthday.’ And we can’t disagree with Kevin because even though Emily is chair, Kevin is supreme leader.” (Delin serves as the Science Ambassadors’ faculty sponsor.) Hodges elaborated: “Kevin has very strong feelings about Pi Day being overrated.” Even though the competition excluded Pi Day this year, Almo-Milkin suggested the possible inclusion of Pi Day and even the celebration of the founding of SpaceX in future years.
Hodges explained the basic points of the competition. The competition was open to anyone who wanted to participate as well as teams if they consisted of members in the same grade because spirit points were awarded to the winners. Then one by one, participants stepped up to the edge of the courtyard and tossed their paper airplanes for a chance to win 20 spirit points.
On March 14, almost everything was going to plan except for arguably the most important factor: the weather. The winds in Pasadena reached almost 14 miles per hour during the competition, which impacted airplane paths. Almo-Milkin explained it best: “It was very, very windy. And so that impacted the competition very, very heavily… Light flying objects do not react well to changes in [wind] direction and strength.” But some competitors enjoyed the challenge. “On the one hand,” said Avo Day ‘25, “it definitely made for more of a challenge, but I think you feel a lot more gratified.”
As for the all important results, Aidan Byrne ’26 got first place (winning throw pictured above). Byrne explained why he thought he won, “I think I won because of my strategy and the way it [the paper airplane] was designed…I weighed the front a little bit more and curved the tips at the end so slightly. Also, I stood with my back to the wind so it would glide to the center.” Byrne used the interesting conditions to his advantage and was quite prepared. The second place competitor, Day, also described himself as prepared. “I did a lot of preparing beforehand, so I didn't really mean to like stress about it in the moment because it can get pretty intense,” he noted. “But I was really prepared. I think that really brought me to a good result.”
Overall the event seemed like a hit, with organizer Almo-Milkin describing it as going “Very well because the people of Sequoyah enjoyed themselves more than they would have if they hadn't been part of this event.” Day said of his experience, “I had a lot of fun.” And Spirit Committee chair Byrne describes it as bringing out people’s imagination and hopes “it brings out people’s spirit to use their creativity.” Sequoyahns might use this sort of creativity in the future as Pi Day celebrations evolve with Science Ambassadors, maybe even continuing into pie making or decorating competitions as Almo-Milkin suggested. Or “ just put a bunch of chemicals out and see what people can do,” Day suggested. Maybe not.