* Loads of fun!!!
* An informal way for students to perform
* A place to meet lots of nice people
* A way to show others our cool school and awesome students

Why do we call it a Petting Zoo? -- Because it's something like going to the Petting Zoo at a real zoo, where you get to try touching the animals. Only at our Petting Zoo, people get to try touching or playing the violins.

Do people try our own violins? -- No. We have a partnership with The Loft Violin Shop and they kindly provide lots of small instruments that guests at our Petting Zoos may try. 

Where do we hold Petting Zoos? -- We hold them anywhere that there is an audience for one. Traditionally, we have held them at the Columbus Symphony Orchestra summer Popcorn Pops, and at their winter Family Concert Series. We also hold them at local libraries, schools or any other place that we think is a helpful place to showcase our students. 

Why do we have Petting Zoos? -- It is a really fun way for us to show other people in our community about our Suzuki Program. Our students get to show off their excellent skills (to the awe of the audience), and people get to learn about what we do in our school. It is also a way to help our school grow. We build good relationships, not only with our partners, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra (CSO) and The Loft Violin Shop, but also with our community. 

Why would I want to volunteer for a Petting Zoo? -- Volunteering for a Petting Zoo is beneficial in many ways. If it is a CSO concert, you can your family get to attend the concert for free. You may also fulfill your quarterly volunteer requirement by participating in a Petting Zoo. Helping with Petting Zoos is a great way to support our school and help it grow so that we can offer more classes and extras for our students. 

What do I do when I volunteer for a Petting Zoo? -- It's not hard! Students come with at least one parent, or the whole family, if you like. There is usually at least 1 or 2 teachers who lead the students in playing Suzuki music, fiddle music, or whatever they like. It's usually pretty casual and the teacher either lets the students choose the pieces they want to play, or the teacher picks the music based on the skill levels of the students who attend. It doesn't matter if you are a brand new beginner or an advanced student, anyone is welcome to come. Not every student will play the entire time. If you get tired, you may take a break and enjoy the other activities or mingle with the guests. While students are performing, parents help The Loft Violin Shop staff run the petting zoo. That means helping little children try holding a violin and bow a little on it. You do not have to know how to play the violin, but if you do, some of the little ones get a big kick out of having a violinist stand behind them and finger Twinkle while helping them bow. They feel like they are "really playing". Most kids just enjoy bowing on open strings for a few minutes. Answer any questions that parents might have about our school, studying the violin or acquiring a violin. If you cannot answer a question, you can refer them to the school administrator, a teacher, or one of The Loft staff members. We will also have brochures on hand to distribute. Most important is for you to just tell parents about your experience with our school and learning music through the Suzuki program. 

If you have any questions, please ask. We hope to see you at one of our Petting Zoos! 

Laurie Kirk, Administrator
Suzuki Violin School of Columbus-Worthington
laurie@suzukicolumbus.org
www.suzukicolumbus.org