Putting science and hip-hop together is rarely a successful combination. However Tuesday, NASA and Honeywell’s FMA Live! blended these two topics into a unique and fast-paced show that taught CCS seventh-grade students the importance of science and math.

FMA Live! (Force, Motion, Action) is an entertaining program designed by NASA and Honeywell to increase student interest in math and science. This mesh of science and hip-hop has won several national awards such as the Yahoo Big Idea Chair Award, PMA Big Reggie Award, and the Globes Award. The high action songs, videos and demonstrations of FMA Live! have reached 500 middle schools and 181 markets in the United States and Canada. 

NASA and Honeywell filled River Bend’s gym with bass pounding hip-hop beats beats, masterful choreography, extreme demonstrations, and a televised biography of Sir Isaac Newton.

With the guidance of FMA Live! performers Eric Olson, Katie Adler, and JJ Hoppson, CCS students learned Newton’s three laws of motion. The seventh graders witnessed Sir Isaac Newton’s biography while watching “Behind the Motion”, FMA Live!’s own spin-off of vh1’s “Behind the Music”.

Eric, Katie, and JJ’s high-energy songs and demonstrations periodically interrupted the mock documentary. Songs like “Everything’s in Motion” and “Force, Mass, Acceleration” introduced Newton’s laws. Interactive games and demonstrations helped students to grasp Newton’s ideas. 

Clinging to Velcro walls taught students the law of inertia, witnessing River Bend teacher Chris Knighton dominate Officer Davis in a sumo-wrestling match taught students Newton’s formula for force, and competing in a race of carbon dioxide powered go-karts taught students Newton’s theory on actions and reactions. River Bend Counselor Grace Martin somewhat reluctantly finished the show and demonstrated all three laws by riding her hover chair face first into a conveniently placed cream pie.

FMA Live! offers many other educational programs and tools for students and teachers that range from a scholarship to send a teacher to Honeywell’s Space Academy for Educators to free downloadable songs that are featured in their program. Many of these resources can be found on their website http://fmalive.com/.

To see a slide show of photos from the event, click here.