More than 20 teddy bears can be found in windows and on porches of homes along Bocce and Vista Drives in Butler Township as part of a neighborhood-organized teddy bear hunt. The hunt is designed to entertain children while taking walks with family.

BUTLER TWP — No hibernation going on here.

While the coronavirus outbreak has caused many families to stay in their homes, residents of Bocce and Vista Drives have a new reason to venture outside.

A teddy bear hunt.

Families living in the neighborhood put teddy bears on display in their windows or on porches for children to find as they take a walk with their parents.

“I saw a little girl outside of our house counting the bears we have displayed in different windows,” said Bocce Drive resident Becky Kerner. “It was so cute.”

The “hunt” officially started over the weekend and continues to grow.

“We took a drive through the neighborhood and counted 21 bears,” said Amy Mason of Vista Drive. “The kids want to go for a walk outside now. They see other people out there walking and want to join them.”

The idea for the teddy bear hunt came from neighborhood residents Dave and Kelly Zaccari. Their inspiration came from the children's book “We're Going On A Bear Hunt,” written by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury.

A large sign posted alongside their road encourages neighborhood residents to put the teddy bears in windows and/or go on the hunt. Zaccari and her husband sent texts to people in the neighborhood and the idea soon caught on as neighbors spread the word.

“Elderly people, couples without kids ... everyone got involved and on board with this,” Zaccari said. “Everybody's getting a little anxious with all that's been going on. This is something fun for the kids to do during this terrible time.”

Hannah Kranbacher said her family counted 17 bears while they were out walking.

“Our neighborhood is like a big circle,” she said. “The kids are having a blast with this. We looked out the window and saw three or four families taking a walk, looking around. It's good to see. Definitely, other neighborhoods should do this. It's really taken off.”The Hull Plan in Center Township started a teddy bear hunt Sunday, the idea also coming from the children's book.Neighborhood resident Laura Pelligrino said there were 15 to 20 teddy bears displayed in windows. She said the group was encouraged to join in the effort by fellow neighbor Jessie Kamerer, who posted the idea on Facebook.“There's not much for people to do right now except take walks,” Pelligrino said. “We have a very active neighborhood.”Kamerer said neighborhood residents have put teddy bears in garage windows and on the mailbox station, “anywhere where children can see them without going into anyone's yard.“We're going to keep this going and try to get more families in the neighborhood engaged in it,” Kamerer said. “Taking the same walk around the block can get boring. This is making it interesting.”Kranbacher pointed out that homes without teddy bears are putting out other stuffed animals, like a pony or penguin, in their windows in order to be part of the effort.

“We've seen bears in garage windows,” Kranbacher said. “We've seen a couple of over-sized teddy bears someone might get for Valentine's Day, little Christmas ornament teddy bears, a wide range of sizes.”Mason expects the teddy bear hunt will lead to other things, adding that a recent article she read talked about people putting rainbows or other items in the windows for kids to look for.Residents of Bocce and Vista Drive are planning on future creative hunts for kids.“Our neighborhood is already talking about doing something similar to this for the kids around Easter, like putting out bunnies or eggs or something,” Kerner said.“We all know each other here. We look out for each other,” Kerner said. “This (teddy bear hunt) has been a great way for us all to rally together.”