Larry Martinek, Mathnasium Co-Founder and Principal Education Officer, is a beloved educator, teacher trainer, and curriculum consultant. And together with our expert team, he has spent years refining the most powerful teaching methods and materials into our comprehensive, industry-leading Mathnasium Method™. These “Ask Larry” features are a way for Larry to share his knowledge and love of math with our curious readers and fans.

Since our first learning center opened in California in the spring of 2002, we have grown to more than 1,000 Mathnasium Learning Centers worldwide. We are humbled and incredibly grateful that, with each center we open, we profoundly impact the lives of children, their families, and local communities.

At the core of our business is a set of beliefs that guides us in our mission of changing lives.

Why do we make such a big deal out of pi? Because pi is a big deal. This irrational number that begins with 3.14 and goes on forever helps us understand so much about our universe. We first learn about pi when measuring circles, but pi is also used to talk to satellites, to measure how fast and powerful a computer is, and even to study the structure of an eye.