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How to Serve Your Community with Stuffable Animals

Donation box with Stuffed toys

Our stuffable friends are always there to help us, and that includes helping out in the community. Many of the same benefits that a stuffable animal can have for our children can apply to families in need. Here are a few ways you and your child can help the community with stuffable animals.

Take stuffable animals to your local police or fire station

When police officers or firefighters respond to a situation, they often give stuffed animals to any children involved. After a traumatic event, a child is often in a lot of fear and pain, and a stuffable animal can help ease those emotions. To help, you can donate stuffable animals to your local police or fire station. You can also send them to Project Smile, a non-profit organization which donates stuffed animals, coloring books, and children’s books to police officers, fire fighters, and paramedics around the country.

Donate them to your local animal shelter

As much as kids can benefit from stuffable animals, so can pets. Dogs in particular love stuffable animals; they’re fun to play with and can ease anxiety. Just be sure to remove any buttons or zippers before you donate them.

Get involved with a stuffed animal drive

With the power of numbers, people can really make a difference. Local charities or schools often have charity drives, and they’ll donate what they’ve collected to children in need. That could range from local children living in poverty, to children in another country who have just survived a natural disaster.

Would you like to give a stuffable animal to a child in need? The Zoo Factory can help. Check out our inventory to see how you can start making a difference.

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How Teddy Bears Make Adults Behave Better

stuffed bear on yellow couch

Yes, you read that sentence right. People are well aware of the benefits teddy bears bring to kids, but did you know they can also help adults? They can relieve stress, treat Alzheimer’s, and now, thanks to a Harvard research team, they can even make us behave better simply by being in the same room.

How They Did It

Harvard researchers Sreedhari Desai and Francesca Gino separated a group of people into two halves—one half was in a room with children’s toys (like crayons and teddy bears), the other was not. Each group was then asked to play games where subjects could influence how much money they and other people had by whether they lied or not. Researchers found that subjects in the room with crayons and teddy bears were less likely to lie and cheat, and were overall more generous, than the subjects in the other room.

Teddy Bears and Childlike Innocence

So, what’s the connection? Researchers believed it was related to purity. According to Desai, “Child-related cues might unconsciously activate notions of goodness and drive us to get to a pure state and not want to pollute it.” And it makes sense. Most people are on their best behavior around children, trying to set a good example. Having a teddy bear by our side may not be the exact same as having a child by our side, but our brain connects the two, and as a result, we behave better.

So, if you, or someone you know, could benefit from having a teddy bear in the room, check out our inventory or contact us for more information.

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Teddy Bear Events Across the United States

Girl with Teddy Bear

Across the United States, teddy bear events are popping up, fueling children’s educations and allowing them to use their imagination!

From healthcare events to educational events, teddy bears are playing a role in many learning opportunities for children.

Below is a highlight of some of our favorite teddy bear events from across the United States that we’ve spotted so far.

Teddy Bear Clinics

We’ve talked about these types of teddy bear events before, but there is no better place to learn how to care for your best bear friend. After all, zookeepers are experts when it comes to animals! One popular event that many zoo’s offer are Teddy Bear Clinics which encourage children to bring their teddy bear along to explore how to care for their bear and introduce them to the world of medicine.

Teddy Bear Fest at Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo

At the Beardsley Zoo in Connecticut, children and parents enjoyed a “Teddy Bear Fest” that centered on raising awareness of bears and wildlife.  The day was packed full of crafts, storytelling, and educational facts on bear awareness. Plus, children under 12 that brought any plush toy (not just teddys!) and was accompanied by a paying adult got in free!

Wild Nights at Fort Wayne’s Children Zoo

If you’ve ever wondered what the zoo is like once the lights go out, those that attended Family Wild Nights at Fort Wayne’s Children Zoo got to find out. This event allows children to take part in educational activities and delicious food while sleeping over at the zoo!  2019 registration is now open.  Pitch your own tent under the stars and learn about nocturnal critters or sleep under the sharks. Most importantly, don’t forget to bring your teddy bear!

Teddy Bear Day at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

Save $10 on “Teddy Bear Day” at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo when you bring a plush friend! Meet some of the zoo’s hands-on outreach animals, get your teddy bear a check-up, enjoy a giraffe feeding and more! This event will next occur on Saturday, Aug. 17, 2019. Save the date!

In need of a teddy bear or plush friend to adventure with this summer? Make your own stuffed animal with Stuffable Animal Kits from The Zoo Factory, LLC. We have dozens of fun and soft animals to choose from, teddy bears included.

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Recent Teddy Bear Toss Breaks Records

Two Teddy Bears

Ice hockey boasts a long, colorful history in America, debuting for the first time around 1893 and followed by the first American hockey team joining the National Hockey League (NHL) in 1924. Since then, hockey fans gather each season to watch their favorite teams battle it out on the ice as they race to get the puck in the other team’s goal.

Hockey would be nothing without its fun, competitive spirit, and of course, the beloved fans.

One dedicated hockey fan base showed up this year with a spirited fire that helped them set a record in the coveted annual “Teddy Bear Toss.”

AHL’s Hershey Bears were pitted against the Binghamton Devils for the annual holiday tradition. Seconds after Bears’ player Riley Barber scored the first goal, fans took the plush toys they brought along to the game and hurled them from the stands out onto the ice.

Channeling the giving nature of the holidays, fans tossed 34,798 toys on the ice, shattering the previous world record of the largest number of toys donated during a hockey Teddy Bear Toss. Hershey collected all the stuffed toys to donate to over 30 local schools, food banks, and churches.

Nothing brings smiles during the holiday season quite like a teddy bear, and the Teddy Bear Toss continues to impress with displays of generosity each year. Will you be attending a teddy bear toss this season? Stock up now to beat the new world record with stuffable animals from The Zoo Factory!

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Big Brands Still Use Old-Fashioned Teddy Bears

Teddy Bear Christmas

In an age where remarkable digital toys and daring technologies surprise and delight kids of all ages, you may stop and wonder if good, old-fashioned toys still make an impact on children. The short answer is yes.

 Classic toys like the loveable teddy bear are still around and make popular choices for holiday gifts.

The proof is found in the marketing tactics of well-known brands this holiday season. An established retail chain took advertising with a teddy bear to the next level with their Canadian ad featuring a teddy bear that comes to life when the store closes.

The ad opens with the bear sitting on a shelf next to a wide variety of other, modern toys. Shoppers choose toys to place into their cart, but everyone seems to be avoiding the teddy bear. When the store closes and the lights turn out, the teddy bear magically springs to life, climbing down from the shelf to explore. We see the bear dress up in a rainbow wig and read a book, ride a fire truck, use a tablet, and eat about an abundance of ice cream.

When the store reopens, the teddy bear hops back onto his shelf to endure another day of shopping in the hopes of getting picked among the other toys. Luckily, on this day, a customer picks the bear off the shelf, and in the next scene we see a little girl unwrap the bear on Christmas morning. As she hugs the bear, her joy radiates from the screen and the words, “holiday magic starts with believing” appear.

By bringing a teddy bear to life, stores help recreate the appeal and warmth of teddy bears, making them inviting to children who already consider their stuffed animals as “alive.” The holidays are a time of magic and wonder, and using the classic teddy bear as an advertising tactic is a great way to show how old-fashioned toys still have their place in today’s digital world.

To gift your own teddy bear magic this season, shop at The Zoo Factory. Let your children make their own stuffed animal with our stuffable animal kits. Each child will experience an instant connection with their new stuffed friend with a birth certificate, unstuffed animal, wishing star and stuffing instructions so they can bring their pal to life.

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Unique Take on Stuffed Animals Coming to Life

Lots of Toys

Between their huge imaginations and their charming ability to turn everything into a game, children love the idea of their stuffed animals coming to life. Classic kid’s movies and cartoons present tales of animated toys, talking teddy bears, and children that can communicate with their toys.

Children see stuffed animals as their first and most loyal friends, and the ability to witness “life” in these treasured toys keeps children’s creativity alive. Pretending they can talk back allows children to play with their stuffed animals in the most inventive ways.

In today’s technological age, science found a way to bring stuffed animals to life through motion.

By using soft robotics, researchers at Yale University developed robotic skins that animate inanimate objects. Made with elastic sheets and full of sensors and actuators, the robotic skins can animate objects and make them perform different tasks. The skins help objects walk, move, or grasp and move another object.

The leader of the research and an assistant professor of mechanical engineering and materials science, Rebecca Kramer-Bottiglio and her team developed the skins to use as soft robots with large implications. The idea is that researchers can use the robotic skins to wrap around deformable materials to create improvised robots for situations where they might prove helpful. For example, astronauts could use the skins in space to attach to objects and deploy for exploration.

Dubbed OmniSkin, the researchers wrapped the robotic skin around a stuffed horse’s legs to make it walk across a table, animating the stuffed animal in a new and exciting way.

These researchers, just like our children, are inventing unique ways to bring stuffed animals to life. Find your children a new stuffed friend from The Zoo Factory, your source for buildable, stuffable animals and dolls.

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How to Use Stuffed Animals in the Classroom

Small Child with Stuffed Bear

Stuffed animals can work wonders in a classroom full of young children, and we love the idea of incorporating them into an educational setting.

Here are a few of The Zoo Factory’s favorite ways that stuffed animals can be used in a classroom setting.

Consider a Class mascot

A cuddly and unique stuffed animal can make the perfect class mascot. Mascots create a sense of belonging, uniting everyone in the class and representing diverse classrooms as a solidified unit. Class mascots make kids excited to go to school every day, giving them something fun to look forward to. These special class heroes can increase classroom morale with minimal effort.

Create a Reading or Writing Partner

Stuffed animals serve as the perfect audience for reading and writing practice. Letting students read books out loud to stuffed animals allows them to practice reading comprehension and fluency while minimizing nerves. For editing help, have students write a few thoughts down and let them read these thoughts out loud to a stuffed animal to listen for writing mistakes. Reading with a non-judgmental stuffed animal causes an increase in confidence (and fun!) for young students.

Offer Recognition and Reward

Kids love positive recognition and rewards for appropriate behaviors and actions. Use stuffed animals in the classroom as a tool for rewarding students for following your classroom rules. For example, let a student that demonstrates good manners sit with a stuffed animal on their desk during class. If a student does a particularly good job with reading something out loud or mastering other course content, let them pick out a stuffed animal to carry around for the day.

There is no shortage of fun ways to use stuffed animals in the classroom! Find teddy bears, unicorns, sea creatures, farm animals, and more at The Zoo Factory.

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Surgeon Operates on Brave Teddy Bear

Even young children can encounter life challenges, facing ups and downs as they go. From small disappointments to large growing pains, children too face many battles. However, going through difficult times feels easier when you have someone to go through it with.

For many children, a favorite stuffed animal can help them get through tough situations, giving them confidence and bravery.

For 8-year-old Jackson McKie that stuffed animal is “Little Baby,” a stuffed teddy bear bringing Jackson comfort in his battle with hydrocephalus. Hydrocephalus has resulted in a build-up of fluid in Jackson’s brain cavities, meaning he needs small tubes or shunts in his brain to drain the fluid and release pressure.

As Jackson recently headed into surgery to get one of his shunts repaired, Little Baby was by his side ready to offer comfort after the procedure. However, Jackson noticed a small tear on Little Baby and asked his neurosurgeon, Dr. Daniel McNeely of IWK Health Centre, to fix up the stuffed animal during his own surgery. Dr. McNeely agreed and the little teddy bear was prepped for his operation.

Little Baby remained brave, and on a small side table, Dr. McNeely, dressed in full scrubs, used leftover stitches to patch up Jackson’s friend. Both Little Baby and Jackson made full recoveries, healing side-by-side.

Find your child their own brave companion at The Zoo Factory, where they can stuff, dress, and love a new lifelong friend.

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The Healthy Aspects of Attachments to Stuffed Animals

girl reading book teddy bear

As a parent, it can become overwhelming to feel the judgements of other parents.  People will likely lecture you, specifically as your children grow, on what types of items your children should be growing out of.

The Zoo Factory has highlighted how a child’s attachment to a stuffed animal is not as alarming as many parents believe.

Children are Less Shy with Attachments to Objects

When a child has an attachment to an object such as a teddy bear or blanket, they generally feel more brave and comfortable in uncomfortable situations.

As children develop attachments to comforting objects, they will learn to interact in a comfortable manner. A child doesn’t receive any judgments from a teddy bear which is why children often view them as “friends” and gain a sense of security from them, regardless of their age.

Increased Empathy in Social Situations

As children establish bonds with comforting objects such as teddy bears, they learn how to handle transitions along with unfamiliar environments. When a child has the comfort of a stuffed animal, it usually increases their overall empathy and helps them to understand other people’s desire to feel comfort. Children care deeply about their stuffed animals which helps them develop a sense of empathy for people as well.

As children grow into adolescence and adulthood, they will eventually let go of their beloved friend, but every child has their own schedule.

Do you recall a stuffed animal or blanket that you were really attached to? You might still even have it somewhere! The Zoo Factory has a variety of stuffed animals that might just be your child’s new best friend for life.

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Libraries Use Stuffed Animals to Encourage Young Readers

Teddy Bear Reading

At The Zoo Factory, we love to see the different ways parents and children appreciate stuffed animals in their lives. That’s why we were thrilled to read about the Somerville Public Library’s “stuffed animal sleepover” event that took place in late July. It incorporated two of our favorite things: our best fluffy friends, and the joy of reading.

If you hadn’t yet heard, a library outside of Boston, MA, hosted a “stuffed animal sleepover” bringing books and stuffed animals together.

What that meant was young readers were invited to drop off their stuffed animal at the library for a sleepover and could pick them up the next day. In the meantime, the librarians spent the evening arranging the stuffed animals in different settings, so it makes it look as if they’re watching a movie or playing toys with each other. The photos were then shown to the stuffed animals’ rightful owners.

The event was promoted to get children more involved in their local libraries. Time and time again, libraries are shown to be incredible sources of knowledge and fun for children, at virtually no cost to the parents. There, they can explore new worlds through books and literature, understand current affairs by examining the newspapers and magazines that are available, and take part in workshops made available to them.

This comes at a time when people are debating what libraries mean in 2018—and if the “stuffed animal sleepover” is any indication, the answer is: fun!

At The Zoo Factory, we are so delighted to see institutions like the local library use stuffed animals in an educative, appealing manner. It’s no surprise that the event drew widespread attention both on and offline. We offer our customers an extensive selection of figures and toys that would be perfect sleepover companions. Contact us today to learn more!