Aotearoa · Lockdown 2020
A bear in every window.
When New Zealand stayed home, we put teddies in our windows so every walk around the block became a hunt. This is the record of what happened, kept safe in case the country ever needs the bears again.
spotted: 6 bears on this street!
How it worked
Simple enough for a whole country to do on the same day.
Put a bear in your window
A teddy or soft toy facing the road. Rainbows, chalk bears on the fence and letterbox friends all counted too.
Pin it on the map
Drop a paw print on your address, give your bear a name and share how it was feeling that day.
Go hunting, locally
On your daily walk, count the bears in your own streets. Smile and wave from two metres away.
The hunt was always for your own neighbourhood. No driving across town, no touching the bears, and no leaving your bubble. Just fresh air, sunshine and a reason to look up.
Where to next
Three ways into the archive.
Who helped carry it
The hunt was never a one woman job.
- TraverseBear map sponsor
- MoreFMMedia partner and Activity Hub
- NZ PostShare Your Bears stamp collection
- New Zealand Red Cross$3 from every stamp sheet
- Motion and LightAnthony's Windows
- New World WigramNZ Bear Hunt Club prize
- Traction MarketingMarketing support
- StratigenceOriginal site build
- Slipstream CreativeOriginal design
Status: sleeping, ready to wake
If Aotearoa needs the bears again.
The NZ Bear Hunt is resting, not retired. If the country ever faces another season of staying home, a flood, a quake or anything that keeps us apart, the hunt can be switched back on within days.
Prototype control · only you see this
- A new bear mapPin your bear, name it and watch your street fill up, rebuilt for today's phones.
- Fresh activity packsThe 2020 sheets, updated and printable at home.
- Support, front and centreCurrent helplines on every page, because the hunt was always about wellbeing.
- A partner kitFor schools, councils, radio and brands who want to help carry it.