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How to Plan An Instrument Petting Zoo

How to Plan An Instrument Petting Zoo

What on earth is an instrument petting zoo?

If you teach instrumental music, you may have heard of this recruitment strategy for elementary band and orchestra. It’s a planned event that allows elementary students (usually in grades 4-5) to find their instrument soulmate through a noisy day of trying out all sorts of different instruments. It’s a busy day, but worth every effort as young students discover the instrument that’s truly right for them.

One of the biggest missteps I see made in elementary music programs is when students and parents choose a band or string instrument without understanding what they’re signing up for. 

As I’m sure you know, just because a student is drawn to a particular instrument doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to be the best choice or fit for them in the long run. As music educators, our primary focus needs to be on setting our instrumental students up for long-term success. When a student chooses an instrument that isn’t a good fit and struggles with that instrument, it typically leads to burnout, frustration, and eventually quitting. And that’s the last thing we want when students are just starting out. 

Planning an instrument petting zoo is a necessary and important step in the elementary recruitment process, and I’m going to guide you through each step of the planning process so that you can host a recruitment event parents won’t stop raving about. Don’t believe me? Check out this article about the instrument petting zoo hosted in one of my previous school districts! It even features a few quotes from Yours Truly 😉

Why Can’t Students Just Pick Their Own Instruments?

A smiling teacher helps a young student position the bow correctly on a violin during an instrument trial.

Before I talk about planning an instrument petting zoo, I want to discuss why the strategy of letting everyone pick whatever instrument they want is usually a recipe for disaster. First, you’ll likely wind up with the following issues:

  • Poorly balanced ensembles
  • WAY too many saxophone and percussion students
  • Students choosing instruments that are a poor fit for their needs

I want to be clear, hosting an instrument petting zoo won’t completely remove instrument choice from families but instead it provides a natural environment for guidance towards the right fit. In every petting zoo I’ve ever hosted, I always tell students to try everything available and list their top 3 choices at the end of the event. Sometimes students are surprised and often change their choices after easily making a sound on an instrument they hadn’t considered before. If you invite families to attend, it’s also a great opportunity to build community support for the music program and encourage parents to opt for your school district’s preferred rental program. You can even send families home with rental forms and/or instrument purchase guidance at the end of the event!

Beginning Instrument Success Factors:

There are certain body characteristics to consider for instrument selection that can set a student up either for success or failure. Some of those characteristics include:

  • Lip Size and Shape (can impact tone production on many woodwind and brass instruments)
  • Teeth Formation (extreme overbites and underbites can impact tone production, especially on woodwind instruments)
  • Braces (certainly not a deal breaker, but may cause some initial discomfort on wind instruments)
  • Lung Capacity (flute and tuba will require the most air)
  • Coordination and Fine Motor Skills (important consideration for most woodwind and string instruments)
  • Physical Stature (important for larger and heavier instruments, some students may want to transition to larger instruments after growing more. String instruments are an exception to this rule since fractional sizes are available.)
  • Hand Size and Finger Length (important consideration for instruments like the saxophone and double bass)
  • Arm Length (bonus for trombone players!)

As you can see, there’s a lot to think about! Do students and parents need to know, think, or worry about these things? No, but these are things to keep in mind throughout the instrumental selection process, and factors to consider when you have a child struggling to find the “right fit.”

Now that we’ve discussed why having students pick their instruments outright is a mistake, let’s talk about how you can start organizing an instrument petting zoo at your school!

Pitching the Instrument Petting Zoo to Your Principal

A smiling music teacher in a gray turtleneck shakes hands with a school administrator during a meeting about the instrument petting zoo.

Whether your direct supervisor is your building principal or a district fine arts supervisor, the first step in your planning process is getting them on board. If you’re in a district with a large music program, this can be easier with the support of your instrumental colleagues. If you’re the sole music teacher, it’s up to you! Chances are, your building principal has probably never heard of an instrument petting zoo. So, the first step is to explain the idea in a way that gets them excited and motivated to support your efforts.

The best way to start this conversation is to pitch it as a fulfillment of something your principal wants to see.

  • Principal wants to see the program grow? This engaging, interactive event will be a great way to drum up student interest.
  • Principal wants more student retention year to year? Students will be more motivated to stay if they’re paired with an instrument that suits them.
  • Principal wants more parent and community involvement? Parents will be so excited to see students choose their first instrument!
  • Principal wants to bring more visibility to the music program? This is the perfect event to share on the school website and social media.

Once you’ve piqued the interest of your administrator, you’ll want to explain how the event works and how you’ll keep it safe and organized for students. Administrators will usually have reservations about students trying mouthpieces (especially during flu and COVID) season. This is where you’ll ask for their help, encouraging sick students to STAY HOME. You can even offer a smaller, make-up event for students who miss the big day. This also provides a natural lead for requesting the supplies you’ll need for a successful petting zoo. These items may include:

Instrument Petting Zoo Supplies:

At this point, your principal is hopefully on board with the idea, and you’ll want to finalize the details. You’ll want to utilize a large space for your instrument petting zoo, such as the gym, auditorium, or even the outdoors on a nice day! 

A young girl tries the clarinet with guidance from two adult musicians during an instrument petting zoo event in a music store.

To run the event, you’re also going to need help from other musicians. This can come from other music teachers in your department, band parents, or alumni. Of course, it’s going to be a very busy event, so you’ll want to have at least one or two people for each instrument station, plus extra hands for handling check-ins and instrument forms. 

Lastly, make sure you finalize a date and location for the instrument petting zoo during the discussion with your principal, and you give yourself enough time to prepare!

Preparing for the Instrument Petting Zoo

Now that your principal and/or supervisor is on board, it’s time to start preparing for the petting zoo! Here are a few questions to ask yourself:

  • What instruments do I plan to feature at the petting zoo?
  • What supplies will I need for the instrument petting zoo? What amount of those supplies do I need for a smooth event?
  • How many students do I estimate will attend the instrument petting zoo?
  • How long will my instrument petting zoo run?
  • How much assistance will I need for this event to run smoothly?
  • What instrument rental company or instrument brands will I promote to students and families?
  • What will set-up and clean-up look like?

The size of every incoming grade level is different, but I strongly recommend finding people who can assist you, no matter what size class you’re teaching. I have run instrument petting zoos on my own, with the help of a colleague, and also with an entire team of music teachers and alumni. It is always easier with help from others. If you have a large group of incoming students attending, and you don’t have anyone available to assist you, I strongly recommend making an appointment for each class. Here’s an example of a staggered instrument petting zoo schedule with fictional teacher names:

  • 10:00-10:30 AM Mrs. Jones’s 4th Grade Class
  • 10:30-11:00 AM Mr. Barker’s 4th Grade Class
  • 11:00-11:30 AM Miss Rodriguez’s 4th Grade Class
  • 11:30-12:00 PM Mr. Sampson’s 4th Grade Class

Preparing the Students for the Petting Zoo

Digital and printable teaching resources from the Instruments of the Orchestra Mega Bundle, including a seating chart, listening game, and worksheets.

Your students will also need to be prepped for the petting zoo. This means ensuring students already have some familiarity with the names and sounds of musical instruments. Hopefully, you have already taught your students about the instruments of the orchestra, but in case you haven’t, I recommend checking out my complete teaching bundle on TPT. It’s really helpful because it teaches students to visually and aurally recognize different orchestral instruments along with key details about each. Taking this step ensures that students already know the names of the different instruments prior to attending the instrument petting zoo. It also helps students start determining which instrument sounds they like best!

This is also a great time to have your students attend live concerts and demonstrations of instruments. How can you do this?

  • Field Trip to the Symphony!
  • Field Trip to see Middle School or High School Band and Orchestra Performances
  • Visits from Band and Orchestra Alumni to Demo Instruments

Involving older musicians in the district is usually a great idea because students often get to see their siblings, neighbors, and friends. The experience can be motivational, since these students get to hear the result of working hard and staying in the instrumental program.

Preparing Colleagues and Volunteers for the Instrument Petting Zoo

In an ideal world, you’ll have at least four volunteers to help you with the big day. If you have more, that will only help. Here are roles to consider and delegate leading up to the petting zoo:

  • Check-In Station (optional; 1-2 People)
  • Woodwinds Station (1-3 people depending on group size)
  • Brass Station (1-3 people depending on group size)
  • Strings Station (1-3 people depending on group size)
  • Percussion Station (1-3 people depending on group size)
  • Check Out Station (2-3 people—you may consider having an actual representative from your chosen rental company attend to answer questions from families)

If you’re lucky enough to have musicians volunteering, consider assigning your helpers to stations that align with their primary instrument. This will help ensure there is a specialist at each station.

Next, you’ll want to determine a secret scoring system that you and your colleagues will use to evaluate student success as they try different instruments. The scoring process I created for my school district was as follows…

An instrument petting zoo scoring rubric shows codes for evaluating student success: CT, IT, NTP, ETDI, and PL, with brief explanations under each.

* Use a separate scoring system for percussion, based on hand independence, grip, sense of timing, and any fine motor physical impairments that may interfere with success.

This system allowed us to have codes that could discreetly communicate a student’s initial experience on each instrument and note any issues that may be a hindrance to their success in the long run. If you use this scoring system, I would recommend not sharing this with families or students. This system should only be known by the volunteers running the petting zoo. At the end of the petting zoo, the students will share their top three picks at the Check Out Station. The people who work the Check Out Station will refer to the scoring guide to steer students toward their best pick, based on their scores and performance during the petting zoo.

Setting Up for your Instrument Petting Zoo

Printable instrument petting zoo forms on a wooden background, including score cards, exit tickets, and tracking sheets, designed to help elementary music teachers organize a successful instrument petting zoo event with ease.
Streamline your instrument petting zoo with these printable forms, including score cards, exit tickets, and tracking sheets—perfect for busy elementary music teachers! Get them now on TPT!

You’ll be setting up 5-6 stations for the instrument petting zoo, so hopefully you’re using a large space! You’ll want to stock each station with the following…

Check-In Station

Woodwinds Station

Brass Station

Strings Station

Percussion Station

Check-Out Station

The Big Day – This is the Instrument Petting Zoo Experience!

Three elementary students sit side by side playing the flute during a school Instrument Petting Zoo event. They are surrounded by music stands and other young musicians.

I know I’ve gone into a lot of detail, but I want to paint a picture of this awesome event for you.

First Impression

Your students enter the instrument petting zoo. They may be accompanied by their classmates, teacher, or even their family members! The student is greeted by someone at the check-in station who marks their attendance and provides them with a pencil and a petting zoo form. You can purchase printable instrument petting zoo forms from my TPT store here.

Exploring the Instrument Stations

The student queues behind each instrument station: woodwind, brass, strings, and percussion. The student is given 1-2 minutes to try each instrument before being given a score, and told to proceed to another instrument or station. Volunteers at the string station will use the yardstick or tape measure to measure the appropriate size for each string instrument before the student proceeds to another station. A string instrument sizing guide can be found here. Once the student has tried every instrument and visited every station, they will mark their top three picks on their petting zoo form.  Next, they’ll indicate their top three choices on their petting zoo form and proceed to the check-out station.

Evaluating Instrument Choices at the Check-Out Station

When the student reaches the check-out station, the volunteer will look at their form and evaluate their top three picks. If the student has shown success on their top choice, it is okay to sign them up for that choice. If there are issues related to sound production, embouchure/dental issues, or physical limitations that may impact success, this is where the volunteer will have a conversation to guide the student towards their second or third choice. This conversation may also happen if there are instrumentation/balance issues (example: too much high brass, too many saxophones). A volunteer may start the dialogue with something like “I see you made a great sound on [instrument]. I know [music teacher’s name] would be thrilled to have another [instrument] player!”

If the student really digs their heels in with their first choice, it’s ultimately up to you to pick your battles and decide if continuing the conversation is worth it. If there’s a significant concern about a student’s potential for success on the instrument, I would recommend having a kind and honest conversation with the parent, possibly with your administration on standby. Be prepared to answer any questions that might be asked during that conversation, and always keep your focus on the long-term success of the child in the program.

Troubleshooting Common Instrument Petting Zoo Issues and Concerns

I want your event to run as smoothly as possible, so I wanted to include these tips for troubleshooting common instrument petting zoo concerns and issues.

Is this Sanitary?

Sanitize woodwind and brass instruments between uses with a mouthpiece cleanser spray and paper towels. Make sure to have a garbage can nearby for the paper towels!

Not Enough Help or Volunteers

This issue can be solved by staggering the arrival times of students by class, or by recruiting student help from the middle school and/or high school instrumental programs. Pick section leaders to model and demonstrate their primary instrument. These leaders can also talk about the instrumental program with students.

Not Enough Time for Instrument Petting Zoo

Again, consider staggering the arrival time of students so that there are a limited number of students queued at a time. You could also break the petting zoo into a multi-day event with each instrument station hosted on a different day.

Too Many Students Want to Play Saxophone!

This is kind of a sneaky trick, but you can limit saxophone interest by either having students try the saxophone on a dry reed or by having them try it on a much thicker reed size, which will make it more challenging to make a sound. This will eliminate students with lukewarm interest, and you’ll be left with the students who will be really determined to learn despite the challenge. Those are probably the kids you want anyway.

Parent or Family Pressure Towards or Against A Certain Instrument

I recommend always bringing the focus back to the experience and success of their child. Examples:

  • “I know every member of your family plays the violin, but Billy looked so happy and content on that cello, don’t you think he’ll feel better learning something he loves?”
  • “I know you’re worried the trombone will be too loud. Did you know Amanda can practice the trombone outside?”
  • “I know you’d like Marley to play the flute, but we’d be so disappointed to miss out on one of the best clarinet sounds of the day!”

Families with Financial Constraints

This is a sensitive topic, so I recommend looping in your admin before having any serious conversations. But in these situations, we want to do our best to prevent any barriers of entry into the music program. Some solutions include:

  • Helping the family find high-quality used instruments for purchase
  • Providing a school-owned instrument as a loaner
  • Seeing if the rental company can provide a rent-to-own option

Summing Everything Up!

This was a longer post than expected, but I hope it helps you feel fully prepared for a successful recruitment event from start to finish! I’ve run several instrument petting zoos, and they’re always a lot of work, but worth it with the long-term results! Don’t forget you can purchase all the instrument petting zoo form you need from my TPT store.  You can also download free printable music activities like steady beat grids and printable circle of fourths/fifths by joining the Chamber of Freebies! It’s a GROWING library of music education resources, perfect for elementary music teachers!

I’m curious. Have you ever run an instrument petting zoo as a recruitment event for your instrumental program? Leave a comment below and share your best tips for other music educators who find this post! If this post helped you, please share it!

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