Breathing Together

Breathing Together is a five-year research and engagement programme exploring breathing and lung health in children.

We are partnering with creative design studio Okido to deliver the Breathing Together engagement programme which will include a website, an animation, three printed book/magazine projects and four family festival events.

For more information about Breathing Together see the project website. 

Breathing Together is funded by Wellcome.

Whoosh, Crackle and Pop

Created especially for babies, toddlers and their grown-ups, Whoosh, Crackle, Pop! Is a world of exploration and experimentation all about breathing and blowing.

Created as part of Breathing Together, this experimental creative play space was developed in collaboration with early years consultant Vicky Cave to better understand how very young children might engage with the power of their breath and their own bodies. It was developed using the principles of open-ended, child-led play, allowing children to take the lead in their own play experiences and invent their own explorations within a multi-sensory environment.

Whoosh, Crackle, Pop was presented at the Great Exhibition Road Festival 2019

Collaborators: Vicky Cave (Early Years Consultant), Linda Scott (OKIDO), Katie Bonner (NHLI Clinical Research Fellow), Arlene Brown (Queens University Belfast Research Nurse), Charlotte Henson (University of Edinburgh Research Postgraduate), Mumtaz Idris (Royal London Hospital Research Nurse), Stephen Main (Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital), Helen Stoelting (NHLI Research Postgraduate),

 Creative Producer: Ellen Dowell

Play and Learn Activity Guide

The Breathing Together Play and Learn Activity Guide is full of ideas for fun and creative ways to explore breath, breathing and the lungs, together with your baby, toddler or pre-school child. Including games, stories, arts and crafts, day trips, cooking projects and experiments, the activities create opportunities to play and learn together, discovering some of the science about how your lungs work and how to keep them healthy.

Download the Breathing Together Play and Learn Activity Guide 

Collaborators: NHLI Breathing Together research team including: Katie Bonner, Andy Bush, Mindy Gore, Clare Lloyd, Sofia Razaq, Sajal Saglani, Helen Stoelting and Maria Zarcone plus other members of the Breathing Together research team from University of Aberdeen, Queens University Belfast, University of Bristol, Cardiff University, University of Edinburgh, Queen Mary University London, Monash University and University of Southampton.

Creative Producer: OKIDO in collaboration with Ellen Dowell