Widely Acclaimed Hip-Hop Science Education Concert to Reach Over 17,000 Students during 10-Week Tour
Honeywell (NYSE: HON) and the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) today announced the spring 2009 tour of their award-winning science education program FMA Live!
FMA Live! will perform in the following locations during the 2009 spring tour: Gonzales, TX; Sulphur, LA; Orange, TX; Waco, TX; Midwest City, OK; Manchester, MO; Springfield-Decatur, IL; Urbandale, IA; Sioux Falls, SD; Minot-Bismarck, ND; St. Paul, MN; Virginia, MN; Green Bay, WI; Dousman, WI; Greenbrier, AR; Chattanooga, TN; Knoxville, TN; Hilliard, OH; Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH.
Created in 2004, FMA Live! is a collaboration between NASA and Honeywell and is the only nationally touring, multi-media, science-education production of its kind.
Designed to make science relevant to kids’ everyday lives, the program brings an authentic, live, hip-hop concert experience of unprecedented size and proportion to middle schools across the country. FMA Live! is completely underwritten by Honeywell and has traveled 63,263 miles, reaching more than 200,060 students at 593 middle schools in 43 U.S. states and Canada.
“Science and math education are top priorities for Honeywell and NASA,” said Tom Buckmaster, President of Honeywell Hometown Solutions. “With FMA Live! we help students learn about science and math in a fun and engaging way and inspire them to become the next generation of engineers and scientists.”
The innovative, traveling hip-hop science concert will reach over 16,000 students during its 10-week, 19-city tour of the United States. Named for Sir Isaac Newton’s second law of motion (force = mass x acceleration) FMA Live! uses professional actors, original songs, music videos and interactive science demonstrations to teach middle school students Newton’s three laws of motion and universal law of gravity.
FMA Live! addresses key learning objectives identified by the National Science Education Standards to increase student interest and participation in the sciences.
“Our nation’s future scientists, engineers and explorers are in middle school classrooms today,” said Joyce Winterton, Assistant Administrator for Education, NASA. “The NASA Honeywell innovative partnership, represented by the FMA Live production and its 2009 tour, makes science, technology, engineering and mathematics relevant to students. FMA Live!’s dynamic performers capture the attention of students and the show inspires them to learn, work hard in school and prepare for science and engineering careers.”
During each FMA Live! performance, students, teachers and school administrators interact with three professional actors in front of a live audience to experience Newton’s laws firsthand. A giant sticky wall is used to demonstrate inertia; go-carts driven across the stage illustrate action and reaction; and ‘extreme’ wrestling and a huge soccer ball show that force is determined by mass multiplied by acceleration. All three of Newton’s laws are demonstrated simultaneously when a futuristic hover chair collides with a gigantic cream pie. Educator and student feedback is consistently and overwhelmingly positive after each tour stop.
In 2006 and 2007, FMA Live! received a Yahoo! Big Idea Award, BrandWeek’s Gold Reggie Award for Best Community Outreach Campaign and the Diamond Award Winner for Best Cause Marketing Campaign. In 2005, FMA Live! received the gold SABRE award and was recognized as the best community relations program worldwide by The Holmes Group. The entire program, including the 18-wheel truck, tour bus and 10-person street team, is fully funded by Honeywell.
About Honeywell
Honeywell International is a $37 billion diversified technology and manufacturing leader, serving customers worldwide with aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings, homes and industry; automotive products; turbochargers; and specialty materials. Based in Morris Township, N.J., Honeywell’s shares are traded on the New York, London and Chicago Stock Exchanges. For additional information, please visit www.honeywell.com.
About Honeywell Hometown Solutions
FMA Live! is part of Honeywell Hometown Solutions, the company’s corporate citizenship initiative which focuses on key areas of vital importance: Family Safety and Security; Housing and Shelter; Science and Math Education; Habitat & Conservation; and Humanitarian Relief. More information on Honeywell Hometown Solutions can be found at: www.honeywell.com/hhs.
