Mar 7 2016

From The Space Library

RELEASE 16-024 NASA, Honeywell Bring Hip-Hop Education Show to West Coast

NASA and Honeywell are visiting the West Coast with the FMA Live! Forces in Motion show for a spring 2016 tour designed to ignite students' interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

FMA Live! is a high-energy, live stage show that features actors, hip-hop dance, music videos, interactive scientific demonstrations and video interviews with NASA scientists to teach Sir Isaac Newton's three laws of motion and universal laws of gravity. The name of the show comes from Newton’s second law of motion: force = mass x acceleration.

“It is critically important to get middle school-aged students aware of and excited about science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) topics -- especially physics. We’ve seen FMA Live! make the introduction easier,” said Donald James, NASA’s associate administrator for Education. “Thanks to our collaboration with Honeywell, we’re inspiring students to set their sights on future careers in the critical STEM field.”

During the next 10 weeks, the show, under the direction of Honeywell Hometown Solutions, will travel to more than 40 public, private and Department of Defense-affiliated middle schools in seven states: California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Washington.

Research shows interactive, experiential learning is the most effective way to engage students in STEM studies. A major goal of FMA Live! is to encourage middle school students to pursue STEM academic coursework and, ultimately, seek careers in STEM-related fields. Since its creation in 2004, FMA Live! has reached more than 455,000 middle school students across the United States, as well as students in Canada and Mexico.

"Many of today's engineering challenges will be solved decades into the future by the next generation of engineers and scientists," said Mike Bennett, president, Honeywell Hometown Solutions. "To prepare students to become tomorrow's innovators, Honeywell invests in programs like FMA Live! to ignite that spark of inspiration in fun and relatable ways."

NASA is committed to using the agency's unique assets, programs and facilities to inspire students to pursue STEM studies and careers. NASA’s Office of Education collaborates with a wide variety of organizations from academia, industry and government to reach learners and educators across the United States.

The FMA Live! Forces in Motion experience features an online Teachers’ Lounge, which includes National Science Standards-based teaching resources, downloadable streaming videos, music from the show, and a comprehensive educational guide with lesson plans.

NASA Selects Educators to Fly with Astronomers on SOFIA Airborne Observatory

NASA has selected 11 educator teams for its 2016 Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors program. The program is a professional development opportunity for educators designed to improve teaching methods and to inspire students. As part of the preparation, the Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors complete a graduate credit astronomy course and are partnered with professional astronomers to participate as the scientists conduct research on board NASA’s flying telescope, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA).

SOFIA is a highly modified Boeing 747SP jetliner fitted with a 2.5-meter (100-inch) telescope that uses a suite of seven instruments to study celestial objects at infrared wavelengths during 10-hour overnight science missions. SOFIA flies at altitudes between 39,000 and 45,000 feet (12-14 kilometers) above more than 99 percent of the water vapor in the Earth’s atmosphere that blocks infrared energy from reaching ground-based observatories.

“NASA’s SOFIA observatory provides a fantastic opportunity for educators to witness scientific observations being conducted first-hand so they can better understand and appreciate the research process,” said Hashima Hasan, SOFIA program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “SOFIA presents a unique opportunity for educators to interact with researchers making observations on board the SOFIA airborne observatory. The educators can then take what they learn back into their classrooms and communities to convey the value of scientific research as well as the wide variety of science, technology, engineering, and math career paths available to students.”

The 2016 cohort of Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors includes the following teams:

• Ashley Adams (Trevor-Wilmont Consolidated School, Trevor, Wisconsin) and Geoff Holt (Madison Metropolitan School District, Madison, Wisconsin).

• Jeff Baldwin (Lathrop High School, Lathrop, California) and Larry Grimes Sierra High School, Manteca, California).

• Rex Beltz (Rock Bridge High School, Columbia, Missouri) and Melanie Knocke (Columbia Public Schools Planetarium, Columbia, Missouri).

• Lizette Cabrera and Cassandra Cabrera (Mendez Fundamental Intermediate School, Santa Ana, California).

• Jennifer Catelli (Rising Tide Charter Public School, Plymouth, Massachusetts) and Eric O’Dea (Museum of Science, Boston, Massachusetts).

• Edie Frisbie (Joseph Henry Elementary School, Galway, New York) and Paul Levin (Galway High School, Galway, New York).

• Connie Gusmus (Guntown Middle School, Guntown, Mississippi) and Robert Swanson (Itawamba Community College, Fulton, Mississippi)

• Alison Hinesman (Chagrin Falls Middle School and Chagrin Falls High School, Chagrin Falls, Ohio) and Ebony Moreen (Heritage Middle School, Painesville, Ohio).

• Jennifer Hubbell-Thomas (Williamsville Junior High, Williamsville, Illinois) and Stacey Shrewsbury (Challenger Learning Center at Heartland Community College, Normal, Illinois).

• Wendi Rodriguez (The Heritage School, Phelan, California) and Marie Thornsberry (Hughbanks Elementary, Rialto, California)

• Joseph Wright (Astronomical Society of Kansas City, Blue Springs, Missouri) and Lario Yerino (Liberty North High School, Liberty, Missouri).

These ambassadors, who are expected to fly during fall and winter 2016, join three previous Airborne Astronomy Ambassador cohorts for a total of 106 educators selected from 31 states and the District of Columbia.

SOFIA is a joint project of NASA and the German Aerospace Center (DLR). NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California, manages the SOFIA program. The aircraft is based at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center's facility in Palmdale, California. Ames manages the SOFIA science and mission operations in cooperation with the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, and the German SOFIA Institute (DSI) at the University of Stuttgart. The SETI Institute in Mountain View, California, and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific in San Francisco manage SOFIA's education and public engagement programs.