Honeywell (NYSE: HON) and the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administratio n (NASA) today announced the fall 2011 tour of their award-winning science education program FMA Live! FMA Live! 2011 fall tour will include stops in: Washington, D.C.; Capitol Heights, MD; Parkville, MD; Morris Township, NJ; Pittsburgh, PA; Urbana, OH; Fairborn, OH; Dayton, OH; Lakeville, IN; South Bend, IN; Cary, IL; Bolingbrook, IL; Wayzata, MN; St. Paul, MN; Chamberlain, SD; Urbandale, IA; Mountain View, MO; Liberty, MO; Kansas City, MO; Denver, CO.
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 since 2004 has traveled 89,000 miles, reaching more than 281,300 students at 807 middle schools in all 48 contiguous U.S. states and Canada. According to www.whitehouse.gov, the United States ranks in the bottom third and bottom fifth among industrialized nations in science and math, respectively. FMA Live! helps support the current administration’s nationwide effort, Change the Equation (CTE), to better prepare students to lead in the 21st century in science and math. CTE is a CEO led effort of partnerships with leading universities, foundations, non-profits, and organizations representing millions of scientists, engineers and teachers that motivate and inspire young people across the country to excel in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
“Learning Math and Science can be exciting, fully interactive, and fun,” said Tom Buckmaster, president of Honeywell Hometown Solutions. “The FMA Live! road-show teaches Newton’s Laws of Motion in a fun and relevant way for today’s students. Honeywell is reaching into communities around the U.S. to inspire young people to explore stimulating careers in science, technology, engineering and math.”
The innovative, traveling hip-hop science concert will reach over 16,000 students during its 10-week, 20-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.
“The FMA Live! partnership between Honeywell and NASA has been a great vehicle for increasing STEM awareness with our youth audiences,” said Leland Melvin, NASA associate administrator for education. “These high-energy performances engage students and make learning STEM a fun experience. We hope that what they perceive as entertainment actually inspires them to reach higher and become a part of the scientific and technical workforce of tomorrow.”
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.
FMA Live! has received an impressive seventeen awards for excellence since touring began in 2004. Most notably a Communicators Award in Special Event Planning, 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. FMA Live! also 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 (www.honeywell.com) is a Fortune 100 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 more news and information on Honeywell, please visit www.honeywellnow.com.
About Honeywell Hometown Solutions
FMA Live! is part of Honeywell Hometown Solutions, the company’s corporate social responsibility initiative which focuses on five issues of vital importance: Family Safety & Security; Housing & Shelter; Science & Math Education; Habitat & Conservation; and Humanitarian Relief. Together with leading public and non-profit institutions, Honeywell has developed powerful programs to address these needs in the communities it serves. For more information, please go to www.honeywell.com/hhs.
