Way Back in the early 1980s, there was a girl who took Summer road trips across the United States with her family...
These adventures were hot, dusty, messy, noisy, and incredibly memorable, for all the right reasons.
At almost every city along the way, there was a Children's Museum to explore... an amazing reward for long stretches in a clunky car with no air conditioning and vinyl seats that stuck to your legs, a sweaty reminder of the seemingly endless hours between pitstops.
These museums were like bits of heaven on Earth - everything invited discovery, nothing was off-limits to touch, and many fast friendships were made while 'driving' a real NYC taxi, or pressing corn tortillas in a replica Spanish Hacienda. There were giant old-fashioned telephone switchboards, child-sized towns to roam, and enormous ball runs that filled rooms and twisted down hallways - kids made the rules here, and all of it was perfectly designed to open the world for the curious, the imaginative, the eager explorer.
Fast forward 30 years, and those road trips turned into global wanderings, and landed that girl in Australia, with children of her own, and a desire to give them a taste of the playful learning nirvana she had experienced in the museums all those years ago.
And that's how Mud Kitchen began... by scouring the world for products, equipment, and resources that captured the same magic of hands-on, 'old-school' immersive screen-free play that was so captivating and memorable.
Since that time, Mud Kitchen has cemented its niche in Australia by supplying a vast array of classrooms, communities, businesses, and homes with larger-than-life, high quality, and truly unique playful learning products. We are proud to distribute some of the world's most innovative educational brands, including Big Blue Blocks (Imagination Playground), Rigamajig, and Kodo. And we're even prouder to have developed products of our own, designed and manufactured in Australia, and sold all around the world.
We consult with educators, museum curators, early childhood professionals, parents, and most of all, kids themselves, as we test ideas, pick our products, and build our Mud Kitchen collections. We know we offer something special, and we would love to share it with you and your school, your home, your community, but especially, your kids... and Australia's future.
Thanks for getting to know us, we hope to know you soon, too!
All the best,
Liz, Stephanie, Laura, Katie, Hannah & the whole Mud Kitchen Team
PS We don't sell Mud Kitchens, we just appreciate the idea behind them - open-ended, creative, messy, fully immersive play... if you need an actual mud kitchen, try here We aren't affiliated with any of these mud kitchen makers, but we love what they do!
Mud Kitchen's
Philosophy
Everything we offer is guaranteed to promote tactile, experiential, non-prescriptive, play-based exploration of STEM / STEAM concepts. Learning at its playful best!
Mud Kitchen is Proud to Support...
Food Bank's School Breakfast 4 Health programs across Australia give students a wholesome, nutritious start to the day, providing a positive impact on attendance, concentration, mental health, and social skills.
As a prize sponsor for the Little Scientists Early STEM Award, Mud Kitchen recognises and celebrates the early childhood services that have successfully implemented inquiry-based learning and child-led STEM exploration.
Our very own 'Unplug & Play Day' initiative... encouraging everyone - classrooms, communities and families, to actively choose going screen-free for an hour, an afternoon, or a full day! Launched in November 2020, look for a new date soon!
You May Have Seen Mud Kitchen Exhibit at Conferences Organised by...
Mud Kitchen has Loved Creating Pop Up STE(A)M Playgrounds with...
National Science Week 2019
Marquee Tent Event 2018 & 2019
Romp & Stomp 2018 & 2019
Wollongong Central Light Playground 2017 & 2018
Educhange Conference 2017
Weekly Unplug & Play Preschool Playgrounds 2018-Mar 2020
Little Kids' Day In 2018
Friends & Family Company Picnic 2019
Darling Quarter Family Light Playground 2016-2018