Stage show uses music, fun to teach students importance of STEM studies

The gym at Coronado K-8 School turned into a full-scale concert venue equipped with multicolored lights and two gigantic projector screens Wednesday.

Hip-hop music filled the room, as three people sang and danced in front of a crowd of more than 600 middle school students. These performers were not singing about love or money, which tend to be regular themes in popular music.

They were singing about the physics of motion.

“Everything you push pushes back equally,” one of the songs said. “For every action, there’s a reaction.”

The three performers are part of a group called FMA Live, a production sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Honeywell, said John James, the show captain. FMA Live’s goal is to inspire middle school-age children to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math.

The group tours the country for 10 weeks in the spring and 10 weeks in the fall, he said. The shows are about 45-minutes long and include humorous videos explaining scientific concepts, dance and rap performances, and demonstrations that incorporate students and teachers.

“Involvement is the best way to explain,” he said.

The performance at Coronado, which is in the Amphitheater Public Schools district, was about Isaac Newton’s three laws of motion. The show’s crew is involved in choosing the music and choreographing, James said.

On-stage demonstrations included a Velcro wall, in which students wearing special suits tossed themselves against a wall made of the hook and loop fasteners.

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The crowd favorite was a wrestling match between two Coronado teachers — math teacher Adam Upmann and science teacher Jeremy Hayes – who were wearing sumo wrestling suits with extra padding.

The match inspired laughs and cheers from the audience, but it wasn’t just for fun. That particular demonstration was to show action and reaction.

Many students lack a desire to study science or math, Upmann, the math teacher and winner of the wrestling match, said. Events like these help change that.

“Its biggest benefit is to help inspire,” he said.

Two students who volunteered during the performance said the demonstrations were their favorite part of the whole thing.

“It was a lot of fun,” said seventh-grader Reagan Blanchard.

“They definitely had my attention the whole time,” said Natalie Hill, another seventh-grader.

Although the group wants to interest kids in STEM fields, FMA Live said it just wants to help kids engage and find their passion.

“Anything you dream is within your grasp,” said a line from the group’s title song.