NASA and Honeywell are kicking off the 2014 fall tour this week of the award-winning science education program FMA LIVE! Forces in Motion with performances at three schools in the greater Seattle area.
Created in 2004, the show is a collaborative effort between NASA and Honeywell Hometown Solutions designed to inspire students to study science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). This fall’s tour marks an important milestone in the 10-year collaboration: reaching 1,000 schools and more than 400,000 students and teachers.
FMA Live! is named for Sir Isaac Newton’s second law of motion, force = mass x acceleration. The show features NASA content, high-energy dancers, original songs, music videos and interactive science demonstrations to teach middle school students Newton’s three laws of motion and the universal law of gravity. It is the only nationally touring, multi-media, science-education production of its kind.
“The continued success of our great collaboration with Honeywell on FMA Live! is a testament to the fact that STEM and cool are one,” said Donald James, associate administrator for education at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “By combining compelling, NASA-unique content and dynamic stage performances to teach physics, we are inspiring students to study hard and become America’s future scientists, engineers and explorers.”
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.
Recent rankings from the National Science Board show that while the United States maintains the world’s largest pool of scientists and engineers, it lags in science and math performance among high school students, ranking 26th in the world.
“As a technology-based company, Honeywell is devoted to equipping the next-generation of inspired students with the tools they will need to succeed in the U.S. job market, including skills in STEM fields,” said Tom Buckmaster, president of Honeywell Hometown Solutions. “FMA Live! provides students with early access to the types of programs that are crucial in developing competencies to keep students competitive throughout their academic and professional careers.”
The show, under the direction of Honeywell Hometown Solutions, will reach 55 public, private and military-connected middle schools in seven west coast and southwest U.S. states during 10 weeks. Stops on the fall tour include Seattle; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco; Los Angeles; San Diego; Phoenix; Tucson, Arizona; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Denver; Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Salt Lake City. The program also will be back on tour in the spring throughout the eastern part of the United States.
For more information about FMA Live!, including tour dates and locations, visit:
For more information about NASA’s education programs, visit:
