Sandra Boynton’s piggie knows how to celebrate with style.

You guys, it’s finally here! The most beautiful, mathematical time of the year: March 14th (3.14), otherwise known in the coolest circles* as Pi Day. Extra fun fact about this year? The date, 3.14.13, is also a palindrome. (We know. Mind blown.)

On this geekiest of holidays, fans of constant numbers like pi (which is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter**), celebrate the awesomeness of this magical number in, well, lots of different ways. Since we here at Workman love learning, math, and celebrations of all kinds, we’ve got some suggestions for how you can honor this very special day.

• Those of you who down-right love math can take a page out of Sean Connolly’s The Book of Perfectly Perilous Math and solve some of the most entertaining word problems ever (seriously). You want math-based stories about vampires, zombies, spy missions, and evil, scheming dukes who force you to play a do-or-die version of Let’s Make a Deal? Of course you do! Well, this book has got ‘em.
• For the competitive, but less mathematically inclined, why not head over to RecordSetter and set (or create) a new world record involving pi? We just know one of you wants to take on the “Most Digits Of Pi Recited While Blindfolded And Spinning A Dreidel” record.
• Or, you can, as some of us have done in years past, enjoy a slice of pie. Delicious and thematically appropriate.

Now get out there and do something pi(e)-themed!

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* Pun totally intended.
** But we’re sure you already knew that, you geniuses you.

The last weekend in April saw Workmanites at events of all kinds, from a crafter’s wedding paradise at the Etsy wedding expo to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Sakura Matsuri, a Japanese cultural celebration. But the other big event of the weekend was the USA Science and Engineering Festival, a free event for families and kids to get up close and personal with real examples of science at work. I was lucky enough to represent Workman—and all of our awesome science books—at the two-day celebration, and I’m excited to share the details with you now!

The adventure began on Friday morning, when Maggie, John, and I hit the road in our amazing custom Brain Quest minivan!! This year marks Brain Quest’s 20th anniversary, and we’ve teamed up with Chrysler to give away over $25,000 in scholarship money and other prizes through the Brain Quest College Tuition Sweepstakes. Be sure to enter online!

Maggie and John are ready to hit the road in style.

It’s a long drive from New York City to Washington, D.C., but we came prepared: In addition to Brain Quest for the Car and Natan Last’s crossword puzzle book Word., we also brought a copy of All-American Car-I-Oke—and busted out a car-rocking rendition of “Proud Mary.”

Maggie bringing down the house---er, car.

When we arrived at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, we pulled the van into our booth, which was decked out with some truly amazing signage, made by our great studio team.

Brain Quest has never looked better.

After a good night’s sleep, we got up bright and early to greet the crowds! Thousands of eager science enthusiasts flocked to the convention center to get some hands-on scientific action. As you could probably guess, a huge part of our weekend was about Brain Quest. Lots of kids stopped by the booth to be quizzed on math and science topics from their grade levels. And we unveiled the brand new free Brain Quest app for iPad, iPhone, and Nook!

Jessica quizzes some Girl Scouts/future Marie Curies, while two others play with the new Brain Quest app for iPad (right).

Plus, just in case you think we were too easy on the Brain Questers, Selina fired questions at kids while they hula hooped.

"I'll take the physical challenge!"

We also had the distinct pleasure of hosting not one but two Workman authors in our booth. The first was Sean Connolly, author of The Book of Potentially Catastrophic Science and The Book of Totally Irresponsible Science. Sean performed experiments from those two books as well as from his most recent endeavor, The Book of Perfectly Perilous Math. Below, Sean Connolly demonstrates some of the more surprising principles of sound waves to young science buffs.

Stop, hey, what's that sound?

And did you ever hear the story of the inventor of chess, who asked only that his only reward for inventing such a spectacular game be a piece of rice for the first square of the board, two for the next, four for the next, and so on, doubling the amount for each square? Below, Sean uses a real chess board to show that the reward wasn’t as measly as you might think.

Scientists of all ages are amazed by Sean's math skills.

Also in attendance was Allen Kurzweil, author and inventor of Potato Chip Science, a book and kit that includes everything you need to complete 30 science experiments involving potatoes and potato chips. Allen showed us how to turn an ordinary potato into a mind-blowing display of Boyle’s Law, which states that volume and pressure are inversely related. In other words, as pressure increases, volume decreases (and vice versa). In other other words, load a chunk of raw potato into either end of a patented Potato Propulsion Pipe, apply pressure, and BAM! Potato goes flying! Science!!

A budding rocket scientist loads his Potato Propulsion Pipe.

No one can resist a mad scientist who advocates launching veggies in the air.

The USA Science and Engineering Festival was a truly wonderful experience, and I’m so glad I got to be a part of it. Seeing all those kids learning about the way science affects their everyday lives proved something I’ve been pretty sure of all along: It’s FUN to be smart!

—Avery, who got to stand about 50 yards from her childhood hero Bill Nye the Science Guy. BILL! BILL! BILL! BILL!

It’s 3/14, so you nerds know what that means: It’s Pi Day*! We here at Workman love anything that brings out our geekiest sides, so we’re celebrating this most mathematical of days with the release of The Book of Perfectly Perilous Math by Sean Connolly. If you want to make middle school math fun–really, it’s possible!–you need this book.

Let’s say a vampire has moved onto your block, and every month he feeds on two people in your town, turning them into vampires. One month later, he and the new vampires are all capable of turning two more people into vampires—a pattern that continues until some brave individual intervenes. Approximately how many months will it take for your 500,000-person town to become populated entirely by blood-sucking fiends if they’re not stopped?

Did we just ask a word problem about a vampire invasion? Yeah, we did! If you want more life-or-death scenarios, this book has got ‘em, including questions about killer tornadoes, deadly spiders, lethal lasers, and out-of-control asteroids.

Now, if you’ll excuse us, it’s time to solve circumference problems while eating varieties of pie. A perfect Pi Day? We think so.

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*3.14 are the first three digits of pi, of course!

Here is a list of a few things that kids love, in no particular order:
1.       Gross stuff

2.       Making a mess

3.       Making things explode

4.       Experiments

When you combine all of these, and throw in some pictures and facts, you have the most dynamically explosive and dangerous book, perfect for boys and girls who want to make things and learn about them too. We give you, THE BOOK OF POTENTIALLY CATASTROPHIC SCIENCE by Sean Connolly. Sean made his way through five cities and six schools last week, wreaking havoc and demonstrating some of the best experiments from his prize-winning book.

Those watching learned a little about friction with Newton’s Science Friction and got messy with the crowd-pleasing Edward Jenner’s Germ Experiment. In the photo you can see a group of 4th, 5th, & 6th graders from Knapp Forest Elementary School in Grand Rapids, MI, with their eyes glued on Sean.

The tour ended in Washington DC as Sean accepted the 2011 AAAS & Subaru SB&F Award for Excellence in Science Books in the hands-on category presented by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Quite the honor!

On Sunday, Sean appeared at the AAAS Family Science Day, where he presented the great video made by the Workman Studio and demonstrated more of his dangerously cool experiments. Even The Washington Post took notice!

Cheers to our friend for bringing a first-place prize back home to the UK and representing Workman children’s authors!

I admit it: growing up, I was a huge science nerd. So Sean Connolly’s The Book of Totally Irresponsible Science and The Book of Potentially Catastrophic Science are high on my list of “Books that are Awesome.”

Our friends at Scholastic Book Clubs recently paid homage to some of the most dangerous scientific discoveries of all time with a demonstration of the Soda Bottle Rocket. If you like suspense, learning, and explosions, this video is for you.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INr5XdUeZ4E[/youtube]

Now if only I could convince the powers that be to let me spend a day channeling my inner mad scientist…

WOW!

This year, thirteen Workman children’s books won 2010 Tillywig Awards!

Thank you, Tillywig. Here’s the list:

BRAIN QUEST WRITE & ERASE SET: ALPHABET Tillywig Brain Child Award Winner, for exciting products that energize the mind while seamlessly blending fun and learning.

BRAIN QUEST WRITE & ERASE SET: SHAPES & COLORS Tillywig Top Fun Award Winner, for products that stand out in terms of exceptional design, construction, and play.

BRAIN QUEST WRITE & ERASE SET: NUMBERS Tillywig Brain Child Award Winner, for exciting products that energize the mind while seamlessly blending fun and learning.

BRAIN QUEST WRITE & ERASE SET: PHONICS Tillywig Brain Child Award Winner, for exciting products that energize the mind while seamlessly blending fun and learning.

BANANAGRAMS FOR KIDS Tillywig Bright Eyes Award Winner, for written and illustrated media that stimulate the imagination and engage the intellect.

CREEP, CRAWL! Tillywig Sterling Fun Award Winner, for distinctive children’s products notable for their exceptional quality and bold originality.

FLUTTER, FLY! Tillywig Sterling Fun Award Winner, for distinctive children’s products notable for their exceptional quality and bold originality.

WIGGLE, MARCH! Tillywig Sterling Fun Award Winner, for distinctive children’s products notable for their exceptional quality and bold originality.

MY SILLY BODY BOOK Tillywig Top Fun Award Winner, for products that stand out in terms of exceptional design, construction, and play.

PERFECT PIGGIES! Tillywig Bright Eyes Award Winner, for written and illustrated media that stimulate the imagination and engage the intellect.

THE BOOK OF POTENTIALLY CATASTROPHIC SCIENCE Tillywig Top Fun Award Winner, for products that stand out in terms of exceptional design, construction, and play.

KIDS MAKE IT BETTER Tillywig Bright Eyes Award Winner, for written and illustrated media that stimulate the imagination and engage the intellect.

WADDLE! Tillywig Top Fun Award Winner, for products that stand out in terms of exceptional design, construction, and play.

Congratulations to all of our winners!

For more information about The Tillywig Awards, please visit their web site.

Summer vacation is right around the corner and kids will want to play! If parents are searching for fun (and educational!) projects to occupy the time, then look no further than Sean Connolly’s The Book of Potentially Catastrophic Science. It’s the best of both worlds—exciting experiments backed by real scientific principles. Using common items found around the house or outdoors, these experiments will encourage young minds….

With a long weekend right around the corner, why not give one of the projects a whirl. This one retraces Isaac Newton’s steps – just make sure it’s performed outside, it gets messy!

Newton’s Third Law of Motion: Experiment #14

This is a great way to see equal and opposite forces in action (and reaction). When you let go of the holes in the carton, the water goes shooting out. That is the first force. It also pushes back on the carton with equal force, just as the fuel burning out of the back propels a rocket forward. But because you are holding the carton in place from above, the linear (straight-line) force becomes converted into a rotational (spinning) force.

Materials:
Empty half-gallon beverage carton
Pencil
Scissors
String
Friend to help and observe
Water

1. Use a pencil to jab a hole in the bottom-left corner of each side of the carton.

2. Make a similar hole in the center of the top flap. (This might be a little too tough for the pencil, so you can use the scissors.)

3. Cut a 2-foot length of string and tie one end through the hole in the flap.

4. Hold each of the four bottom holes while your friend fills the carton with water and holds the free end of the string.

5. Get your friend to hold the string up and away from herself, and let go of the four holes.

6. Water should rush out of the holes and the carton should spin around until the water runs out.

Author Sean Connolly delights the hosts of Fox & Friends by toasting grilled cheese sandwiches in a pizza box oven and demonstrates some “Science Friction” on the 10! show on NBC Philadelphia. The Book of Potentially Catastrophic Science starts selling like crazy as he climbs on a plane back to England at the end of a long, hugely successful book tour. Thank you, Sean. And thank you Sir Isaac Newton.

Author Sean Connolly shares a few of the 50 experiments for young scientists he features in The Book of Potentially Catastrophic Science on Studio 5 in Salt Lake City, UT.

Experiments that pop, ooze, bang, crash, and teach! The Book of Potentially Catastrophic Science by Sean Connolly is packed with experiments that lead kids through the history of science and teach scientific principals with outrageously fun, hands-on exercises. Watch the video below for more!