June 29 is International Mud Day and a local science museum is celebrating early with a fun and messy event.

Worcester's Ecotarium hosted their annual Mud Day on Saturday in their Nature Explore area.

Along with learning what you can do with mud, kids got a real hands on experience with mud ball throwing and painting with mud.

Young artists got to work with pottery clay to make animals.

Volunteers helped with the rinse-off station and made sure the mud was great to play in.

The Ecotarium says it's all about inspiring a passion for science and nature.

"We love hands on sensory play here and so Mud Day is a great day to really get in and squish in and enjoy nature in a kind of messy-fun way," Ecotarium Events Coordinator Emily Rose said. "Our Nature Explore play area is open every day and we like using it for special days like Mud Day and Insect Day coming up. But this is open every single day we are and you can come dig in the dirt or dig in the sand. Play in the stream and get muddy and play in the woods every day of the year."

The Ecotarium is open Tuesday through Sunday year-round and says they're seeking more volunteers to help with events. 

Insect Day will be in two weeks on July 9 and they're celebrating Rocket Day on July 23.