Can Launceston's high school students résolvez ce crime?

The only caveat was that those clues were all in French.

The high school students were taking part in an imaginary mystery narrative called Le Cambriolage, a mobile escape room focused on the French language-learning experience.

Designed by the Faculty of Arts at the University of Melbourne, Cambriolage, or The Heist in English, arrived in Tasmania in late October to challenge students through a series of puzzles and, hopefully, ignite their language-learning passion.

"All around the country, there's a drop- off in high school aged people's enthusiasm for learning a second language," said Sarah Hall, Le Cambriolage's facilitator and content coordinator.

"The idea behind this experience is to engage with students through something fun and to get their heads out of textbooks."

Suited for students aged between 12 and 18, the heist requires no prior French experience, and is framed as the aforementioned theft narrative at one of Paris' most famous museums, and revolves around a series of French vocabulary sheets, puzzle cubes and a decked out van.

"We don't have many similar activities and certainly no escape games in French," said Fabrice Dauchez, a French teacher at Scotch Oakburn College.

"Being isolated and not as populated, we have fewer opportunities [in Tasmania]. It shows students that the mainland and France are not so far away."

The entire project was designed by Dr Owen Spear, Australia's foremost escape room designer, and has been an enormous effort from the Uni's faculty of arts and fine arts and music departments.

It involves the institution's head of engagement, Jason O'Leary, with assistance from French professor and director of the uni's Bachelor of Art Véronique Duché.

This was Le Cambriolage's first visit to Tasmania, in which it stopped at two schools in Launceston and another in Hobart, and the program will return to the state in May.

Schools looking to register their interest can visit arts.unimelb.edu.au/heist