Kids Ministry Idea: Set up your own petting zoo.
Just living my best life at the Nativity Petting Zoo. Brooklyn, NY. Circa 2016.
Set up your own petting zoo, it might just be your #bestdayever. Your best day. Your kids best day. The animals best day. EVERYONE’S best day.
I’ll be totally honest, when the idea was first pitched to me I was like, oh heck no, the logistics of hosting LIVE ANIMALS at Sunday School is not what I’m up for. That’s crazy. Goats. Sheep. Bunnies. It sounded like a literal mess I wasn’t prepared to deal with. But then I saw the possibility to get an alpaca and my attitude quickly changed from, “Are you crazy?!”, to “How soon can they get here?!” Was this day a little logistically nightmare-ish? Perhaps. (Good planning was essential) Was it 100% worth it? Absolutely! It was such a hit we did it again the following year and added pony rides. Giddy up!
3 SUPER SUGGESTIONS:
Contact local animal rentals in your area. We just hopped online and did a Google search, called up and inquired about pricing and dates and logistics. It’s a lot to manage logistically, so be sure to get those details sorted well in advance and communicate super well with your team so everyone knows exactly what’s happening and what to expect day-of. To be sure, renting petting zoo animals isn’t cheap, but it’s a great resource for bigger events that will generate a lot of buzz and interest in your kids program. It’s a perfect outreach tool. Or it’s fantastic for special summer events or block parties that your church might be hosting.
Create a fun space for the animals. The rental company will most likely provide the basic set up for the pens, etc. but you can go to town creating a fun space around all of that. Get extra bails of hay to place around and put up farm-themed decorations. Make fun signs indicating what animals are in what pens or provide special instructions for how each animal should be petted or fed treats. Don’t forget to add some music to create a fun atmosphere, too! Depending on the space available and the event you’re throwing, you can set things up inside or out. Anything is possible with good planning!
Pet. The. Animals. (And take selfies with them, too!). This is the best part - actually petting the animals and seeing the sheer joy on the kids faces! Make sure to take lots of photos and if you find a favorite animal (like mine, the beloved mohawked-alpaca) don’t miss an opportunity to take a selfie with him.
BONUS STUFF:
Go on and try the idea of a Nativity Petting Zoo as a Christmas outreach. We had a little nativity scene set up and some people dressed up as Mary, Joseph, the shepherds and wisemen. It was a fun was to incorporate the theme of Christmas and share the nativity story in a real and tangible way. Now, whether bunnies and alpacas were actually present at the birth of Christ is anyone’s guess, but we do know that with Jesus all are welcome, so it’s kosher.
If you’re planning a petting zoo party outside be mindful of the weather. Never just plan for sunny days, this is rule number one! Weather does what weather wants to do, so plan accordingly with some pop-up tents that can be put up as coverings or even a back-up venue inside where everything could be moved to in the event that the heavens let loose.
You don’t want to invest in a big day without properly promoting it. All the time, money, energy and planning will go to waste if your big day isn’t promoted well. I definitely harp on this point a lot - promotion is key! So be sure to get the word out in lots of different ways - flyers, email blasts, neighborhood posters, social media ads, direct mail, door-to-door visits, however you choose, just promote, promote, promote!
