May 10 2017
From The Space Library
RELEASE 17-048 Honeywell and NASA Fuse Hip-Hop and Physics to Inspire Middle School Students
Honeywell and NASA are bringing FMA Live! Forces in Motion, an award-winning hip-hop educational experience, to middle school students along the east coast this spring.
FMA Live!, on its 26th tour, kicked off in Virginia, followed by a stop in North Carolina, and now is making its way to Georgia. Starting Monday, FMA Live! began performing in front of more than 2,000 Atlanta students at Long Middle School, Brown Middle School and Harper Archer Middle School. The tour will then travel to South Carolina before concluding in North Carolina.
Honeywell and NASA created FMA Live! in 2004 to inspire middle school students to explore science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) concepts and careers. Since then, FMA Live! has traveled nearly 112,000 miles to more than 1,200 schools and performed for 480,000 students in 48 contiguous U.S. states, as well as in Mexico and Canada. The one-of-a-kind show incorporates hip-hop music, dancers, student volunteers, and on-stage, interactive science experiments to demonstrate how physics is part of everyday life. The program addresses Forces and Motion learning objectives outlined by the Next Generation Science Education Standards for students in grades 5–8.
“FMA Live! is designed to encourage the kids of today to take an interest in becoming our future scientists and mathematicians,” said Mike Kincaid, NASA’s acting associate administrator for Education. “It is important for students to understand that creativity and personal style can be mixed in with a STEM education. With our long-term partner Honeywell, we are showing students that a career in a STEM-related field is within their grasp if they want to pursue it.”
Each performance focuses on Newton’s Three Laws of Motion and the Universal Law of Gravity. FMA Live! is named after Newton’s second law of motion (Force equals Mass times Acceleration) and uses music videos and interactive scientific demonstrations to teach and inspire students to pursue STEM careers.
“With each school performance, Honeywell and NASA are helping to prepare more students to take an interest in STEM and become our future problem-solvers,” said Mike Bennett, president of Honeywell Hometown Solutions. “The longevity of FMA Live! is a testament to how influential interactive STEM programs can be to students.”
The FMA Live! Forces in Motion experience also features an online “Teachers’ Lounge” that includes National Science Standards-based teaching resources including downloadable streaming videos, music from the show, and a comprehensive educational guide with lesson plans. This digital tool maintains post-show momentum and can be incorporated into classroom learning objectives throughout the school year.
