CALLED PENNY BEAR. MAX: THERE SHE STANDS, SOME 13-FEET TALL, HER CUBS NESTLED AT HER SIDE, WITH AN UNRIVALED VIEW OF LAKE TAHOE. >> IT’S AMAZING. MAX: THIS IS URSA MATER, LATIN FOR BEAR MOTHER. HERE IN TAHOE CITY, SHE GOES BY A DIFFERENT NAME, ONE DISCOVERED BY TAKING AN UP-CLOSE LOOK AT HER FUR. >> IT’S COINS. PENNIES. IT’S PENNIES. MAX: 205,000 PENNIES COMPRISE PENNY BEAR. THE ART PIECE WAS INITIALLY SUPPOSED TO BE HERE ONLY A YEAR, BUT THE RESPONSE IN TAHOE CITY THE LOVE FROM THE RESIDENTS HERE, MADE IT A PERMANENT FIXTURE. >> WE PICKED UP THE PHONE, STARTED KNOCKING ON DOORS, LOOKING FOR $25 TO MORE. MAX: BJ YUKE, AND TAHOE PUBLIC ART PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER STEVE MILLER, HELPED TO RAISE $100,000, $60,000 IN JUST 1.5 MONTHS FROM PRIVATE DONATIONS, AND $40,000 IN THE FORM OF A GRANT FROM PLACER COUNTY. >> WHEN WE INSTALL ART, YOUR BIGGEST HOPE IS THAT THE COMMUNITY DOES EMBRACE IT, AND THIS IS HAS BEEN A GREAT SUCCESS STORY. MAX: STEVE FIRST NOTICED PENNY BEAR TWO YEARS AGO AT BURNING MAN, A PIECE CREATED BY LISA AND ROBERT FERGUSON. >> IF YOU STAND HERE FOR 10 TO 15 MINUTES, ALL THE PEOPLE THAT WALK BY ON THE STREET, INEVITABLY ALMOST EVERYBODY WALKS IN JUST TO TOUCH IT. MAX: PENNY BEARS COMES IN AT 1.5 TONS, MADE FROM STYROFOAM, CONCRETE AND OF COURSE, PENNIES. >> CLEVER, VERY CLEVER. MAX: BUT THERE’S SOMETHING ELSE THAT DRAWS YOU IN. >> THE EYES ARE THE SOUL, THE VISION TO THE SOUL, SO WHEN YOU’RE LOOKING INTO THE EYES, THEY DO LOOK REAL. MAX: AND IN A PLACE WHERE MAMA BEARS AND CUBS CALL HOME, THESE EYES CAN OFFER A LOOK INTO SOMETHING ELSE. >> THEY’RE THE SOUL OF THE MOUNTA