It's time to enjoy some messy play this week and learn while having fun with playdough, gloop and paint.

Playcentre Messy Play Week is a free event for whānau with pēpi and tamariki aged 0-6 years, being held from Monday, August 19 to Friday, August 23 at Playcentres across New Zealand.

"Playcentre Messy Play Week is a chance to have fun with your tamariki and to be involved in supporting them to learn through play, without the mess at home," says  Playcentre Aotearoa chief executive David Moger.

There will be a variety of messy play activities offered, such as painting, playdough, sand, clay, slime, gloop and more.

Messy Play Week will run from August 19-23 at Playcentres across New Zealand. Photo: Playcentre Aotearoa.

According to David “messy play provides a range of learning opportunities for tamariki".

“It builds language and numeracy skills, supports physical development and provides opportunities for scientific exploration and relationship building," says David.

"Most importantly though, it is lots of fun."

Playcentre is a nationwide charity with more than 400 centres, where parents play and learn alongside their tamariki and make connections with other parents in their community.

To get involved in Messy Play Week, you can make a booking to visit your local Playcentre at www.playcentre.org.nz