FHF Art and Science Enrichment Program

Active

We share Jenny Do's beliefs that art and science strengthen our 'sense of wonder' and connection to the natural world, and that education provides a route out of poverty. The FHF art and science enrichment program provides our shelter kids with workshops featuring scientists, artists and engineers who describe their exploration of the natural world. Our goal is to engage the children with topics that inspire wonder, urge them to ask questions of our experts, and encourage them to explore further. The art and science enrichment program was started in 2024 by FHF board member and Earth scientist Tom O'Reilly and artist Trinh Mai Thach. All of our workshop guest speakers and translators are volunteers. Your donation supports this program through purchase of art supplies, science gear, and more. Learn more about our story

Some of our interesting FHF art and science workshop topics

Learning about oceans and creating art

The Friends of Hue Foundation Shelter kids have adopted an Argo robot 'profiling float' through the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) Adopt-A-Float program , and named her Jenny Do. The Jenny Do is now part of the Global Ocean Biogeochemistry Array, a network of hundreds of floats that carry chemical and biological sensors. These floats, including the Jenny Do, are revolutionizing our understanding of ocean biogeochemical cycles, climate, and ecosystem health.

The children also created beautiful designs to honor Jenny, and Trinh Mai transferred these to the actual float housing before she was deployed on her important five-year ocean voyage in September 2023, west of the Cape of Good Hope. There are no obligations, financial or otherwise, to adopting a float, but it gives our kids the opportunity to learn about oceanography, engineering, climate and more while honoring Jenny's memory. The kids can track the Jenny Do's voyage online as she measures the chemistry, physics and biology of the ocean from the surface to 2000 meters depth every 10 days.

Artwork created by FHF shelter children to honor Jenny Do on the adopted robot float dedicated to her.

Cô Trinh Mai transfers FHF childrens’ art to their adopted robot float at the University of Washington School of Oceanography, March 2023.

The Jenny Do is deployed from Research Vessel Roger Revelle, 200 kilometers west of the Cape of Good Hope, on September 20, 2023.

Children can track progress of the Jenny Do and her data at MBARI’s Adopt-A-Float website.

Future oceanographers and engineers "testing" their Lego Argo floats at the FHF shelter pond

Gateway to another world

The FHF shelter recently received a compound microscope, thanks to donor generosity. Tom O’Reilly has been training the staff and kids on the microscope’s care and use. Thanks to this scientific tool, the children have witnessed first-hand the incredibly diverse and fantastic life to be found in a drop of water – from a pond, the Perfume River, and the ocean.

FHF children explore the micro-world

Adventure at Da Nang tide pools

Tom O’Reilly met the shelter children and staff ‘in person’ during a visit to Vietnam in August 2025. Tom led the kids on an overnight adventure to tide pools near Da Nang, where the kids observed corals, crabs, tropical fish and other fantastic creatures in their native habitat. The kids also made their own plankton nets, and collected water samples that they examined under their new classroom microscope.

The kids made plankton nets from nylons, plastic bottles and duct tape, then used them to collect water samples from the South China Sea.

FHF shelter kids were excited to find ocean life at the Da Nang tide pools

Our FHF kids having a close look at Da Nang tide pool creatures along the South China Sea.

Adventures in literature and poetry

Director of the Diasporic Vietnamese Artists Network (DVAN) Dr. Isabelle Thuy Pelaud visited the FHF shelter in January 2025 along with five other distinguished writers and poets; Alexandra Huynh, Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai, Nguyễn Hiền Trang, H’Abigail Mlo, and Nguyễn Bích Lan. These artists read stories and poems to our shelter children and gifted them with books – a truly unique and enriching experience!

Distinguished visitors to the FHF shelter in January 2025: Dr Isabelle Thuy Pelaud, Alexandra Huynh, Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai, Nguyễn Hiền Trang, H’Abigail Mlo, and Nguyễn Bích Lan.

Our distinguished visiting artists treated all of our FHF children by reading them stories and poems, and gifting them with books.