1. Amber eyes
Stories say Kitchi’s eyes glow like campfire coals—but only when it wants to say hello.
Shenango Monster Club
Kitchi-Amik for families
Friendly guardian energy, scavenger hunts, coloring, and campfire chapters—built for kids and the grown-ups who drive them to the river.
Hi, explorers!
Kitchi-Amik is a shy river friend—a little like a giant turtle and a little like a giant beaver. It loves clean water, quiet mornings, and people who pick up litter. If you are very still, you might feel the river watching back.
Fun facts (story version)
Memorize these for the car ride.
2. Dinner-plate feet
Webbed tracks in the mud are “proof” for kids and “maybe a heron plus imagination” for scientists.
3. Guardian rules
Be kind to fish habitats, don’t toss trash, and never chase animals. Guardians notice.
River scavenger hunt
Safe, public places only—with a grown-up. Check off what you find.
- A V-shaped wake on the water
- Mud that holds any animal track
- A tree chewed by real beavers
- Three different bird calls
- Fog, mist, or “steam” on the water
- Something yellow-gold like Kitchi’s eyes (leaf, flower, sunset)
- A piece of litter you pick up and throw away properly
- Your own “sighting story” told in under one minute
Finished the list? You’re a junior River Guardian. Celebrate with ice cream in town.
Art & stories
Draw Kitchi at the kitchen table. Write a new Chronicle chapter. Make a cardboard shell and waddle the hallway. When you’re ready to share, have a grown-up post to friends or local community pages—always with a note that it’s folklore fun.
Want the deep (grown-up) history first? The Chronicle reads great aloud on rainy days.
Family visit ideas