Music appreciation can start at an early age. With the Instrument Petting Zoo, young children ages 3-5 get the chance to listen and play real instruments from the orchestra.

Staller Center staff and Music Department faculty and students have shared their love for music through the program with more than 150 children this year.

Young children have an opportunity to touch and play orchestra instruments through the Instrument Petting Zoo.

Funded through the Staller Center’s Endowment for the Arts, each 40-minute interactive presentation brings music and smiles to the children. They  have a chance to slide a trombone, blow through a recorder and wave their arms to make sounds on a Theremin.

“Early exposure to orchestral instruments in a fun and hands-on way can help to build a lifelong interest in music,” said Paul Newland, House Manager and Outreach Director at the Staller Center for the Arts.

Each child receives a kazoo as a gift to encourage continued music appreciation and participation.

The program has been held at the North Shore Library in Shoreham, the Commack Public Library, the Mastic-Shirley-Moriches Library and the North Shore Jewish Center. Other presentations will be held at libraries in Islip, Setauket, Longwood, Brentwood, Brookhaven and others throughout the winter.