It's for you: A visitor discovers the string telephone at the Fascinating Science on the Move exhibition. — Photo courtesy Australian embassy

HA NOI (VNS)— Doan Thi Diem primary school student Nguyen Tony Hoang Nam, who is 10 years old, was excited to discover for the first time the string telephone.

The schoolboy was eager to hold one tin can close to his mouth while his friend held the other close to his ear, demonstrating the scientific principle of the string phone in an amusing way. Together, they pulled the string tightly and talked into the tin. The two boys laughed joyfully when they heard each other.

"It's a magic," said Nam. "I am very happy to learn many new things here."

The string telephone is one of 30 items on show at the Fascinating Science on the Move exhibition at the Ha Noi University of Science and Technology's Ta Quang Buu Library.

The show, which was launched by Questacon, Australia's National Science and Technology Centre on Wednesday, gives children an opportunity to explore science in a fun way. They can learn about everything form the principles of music and sound and human biology, to insights on light, force and motion, perception and puzzles.

Questacon is also holding workshops for local science teachers and seminars on science communication with representatives from the education, science and culture ministries of Viet Nam.

The exhibition is open for selected schools until today and for the public from 8.30am-3pm tomorrow at the library.

The exhibition will then move to Da Nang City from April 16-18 (at the University of Da Nang, 41 Le Duan Street) and HCM City from April 24-27 (at RMIT University, 702 Nguyen Van Linh Street, District 7).

More than 2,000 school children are also expected to attend science shows held on the sidelines of the exhibition.

The 10-day event is one of the Australian Government's key activities celebrating the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Australia and Viet Nam.

"Australia and Viet Nam have developed strong and effective education ties over the past 40 years," said Australian Ambassador Hugh Borrowman. "We believe the Questacon tour will further enhance education links between the two countries as well as trigger and inspire enthusiasm for science and technology among Vietnamese youth and children."

The show hopes to make science engaging to youth, said Professor Graham Durant, director of Questacon.

"Our science exhibition demonstrates that science is fun, relevant and fascinating for all ages," he said.

"With its emphasis on hands-on exploration and learning, we hope the exhibition will also support and encourage problem solving and individual inquiry-based learning."

The English-Vietnamese book Having Fun with Science and Technology has been printed to support Vietnamese schools to teach science in English as part of the touring exhibition, said Professor Durant.

Each year, Questacon receives over 450,000 visitors to its centre in Canberra, while more than 660,000 come its exhibitions in other museums and centres around Australia and overseas.

"When Australian families visit Canberra, a trip to Questacon is high on the list of attractions," said ambassador Hugh Borrowman. "Questacon is known for making science fun – for children and parents alike." — VNS