Allyson, Lindsay, and I had a great time at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden Access for All Day in August! Thank you to the Zoo for hosting this great program and for all the adaptations they are making to make the Zoo more accessible to everyone. The Zoo has added sensory-friendly restrooms as well as adult changing tables in the Vine Street Village family restrooms. They have a new map that has color coded areas indicating spaces that may be overstimulating for different senses. Zoo staff has also undergone extensive training with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital to enable staff to make the Zoo experience more accessible and inviting to ALL Zoo guests. See more information here: http://cincinnatizoo.org/plan-your-visit/zoo-access-for-all/
The Access for All Day provided families a chance to check out all the new Zoo features and connect with a variety of service providers in the area. We had our instruments out and had such a great time making music and connecting with many families and service providers. We had a prime spot where we got to see a flamingo parade, alpaca walk, and got to know a tortoise named Garth! We were very excited to share with everyone information about our services, in particular our Keys for Little Ones and Keys for Kids/Teens groups!
Keys for Little Ones is a group geared towards children ages 10 months to 4 years of age. We wiggle, shake, drum, and sing together in this fun music enrichment class! Through singing, dancing, and playing instruments, we discover the power of music to help children meet developmental milestones in communication, social skills, motor skills, and bonding. Moms, dads, and caregivers are all welcome to join in the fun to help their children learn, play, grow, and take away knowledge to continue the music-making at home!
Our Keys for Kids/Teens groups are geared toward students with special needs but are also welcome to all abilities and interests! We discover the power of music to increase communication, self-expression, self-esteem, social skills, and make some new friends in the process. Our music interventions are geared specifically towards the individuals in group, and they include: playing instruments, singing, dancing, drumming, and learning new music!
Click here for more information and to register for fall groups!
Music-making is a wonderful way to bring people together, and this was never more evident than at the Zoo! We met and connected with many people (and animals!), from all walks of life, backgrounds, and abilities – music created opportunities for many smiles, interactions, and wonderful moments that made the day so special! And… we even got to meet Fiona before heading home!