Celebrating 15 Years of mud magic

Fifteen years ago we started a simple but powerful campaign: encouraging settings to get children outside, connecting with nature through hands-on experiences. At the heart of it all? Mud.

In 2012, we launched our Making a Mud Kitchen book and it struck a chord. Since then, we’ve given away over 30,000 free copies, plus more than 100,000 free downloads worldwide. It’s now been translated into 12 languages, even printed in Portuguese, and shared widely with early years settings. What started as an idea has truly grown into an international movement.

And the impact? Huge. The ripple effect of sharing practical ideas and inspiration has helped mud play evolve from something rarely seen into a core part of early years provision today.

We couldn't be prouder.

And we’d love you to be part of the celebration.

Join us this June as we mark 15 years of our mud campaign and get involved in International Mud Day on 29th June. Whether it’s mixing, building, experimenting or simply enjoying the sensory joy of mud, let’s champion this powerful, child-led way to play.

Let’s get muddy - together.

Liz Edwards
Founder, Muddy Faces

New resource – we’ve drawn together real-life practice and expert research to highlight 10 key benefits of mud play (see below). A useful reference when you need to make the case for mud play at your setting.

Over the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing activities and products to support your mud play projects. At the end of the month, our What’s On newsletter will highlight outdoor events coming up over the summer.

Not planning to place an order? No problem - you can still download a free online version here.

We have had Making a Mud Kitchen translated into 12 different languages! All available to download for free - making it easy to share with your whole community.

🌱 10 benefits of mud play

Mud play offers simple, powerful opportunities to support children’s learning, development and wellbeing in many different ways.

👋 A rich sensory experience

Squishing, mixing and shaping mud engages touch, movement and the senses in a fully embodied way.

💪 Physical development

Digging, lifting and pouring helps build strength, coordination and fine motor skills.

🎨 Creativity and imagination

Mud is open-ended, allowing children to create, transform and invent freely.

🔍 Exploration and curiosity

Mixing soil and water, observing change and experimenting encourages investigation and discovery.

🧠 Problem-solving and thinking

Building, balancing and testing ideas supports early scientific thinking.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Social interaction

Shared mud play encourages cooperation, communication and role play.

💛 Emotional wellbeing

Hands-on, immersive play can be calming, grounding and joyful.

🌍 Connection to nature

Direct contact with soil and natural materials supports understanding of the natural world.

🔄 Child-led learning

There is no right way to play with mud, allowing space for experimentation and confidence.

🌱 Health and resilience

Exposure to natural environments supports overall health and resilience.

Find this list online here: 10 Benefits of Mud Play

Background and context

The history of International Mud Day

The origins of International Mud Day, first developed by the World Forum Foundation, and how it has grown into a global celebration of mud play.

Muddy Faces Mud Campaign

The three strands of our Mud Campaign and how it has developed to impact sensory messy play across early years settings and beyond.

Case studies

Real examples from settings across the UK and internationally sharing how mud play, mud kitchens and Mud Day events are used in practice.

Research & reports

Evidence and research exploring the benefits of mud play and its impact on children’s development and wellbeing.

Ideas and inspiration for practice

Mud play tips

Practical advice and encouragement from practitioners on how to approach mud play with confidence, including simple ways to get started.

Mud play activities

A wide range of ideas, downloads and activity prompts to support creative, sensory mud play in your setting.

Mud gallery

A collection of inspiring photos from real settings showing the joy, creativity and learning that mud play brings to children in practice.

Find out more