Kelly Enright's Blog

As naturalist William Bartram traveled through the eastern woods and swamps of southern Georgia near Fort Barrington in 1773, he found many plants of interest to his pen, which he collected for study and propagation—both at home in Philadelphia and specimens sent to England for collaborative observation by naturalists there. One blooming shrub caught his […]

Work done in 1585 is tactile, visual, and hones basic skills and concepts. As you pound the corn, you use fine muscles and motions and can feel the change from kernel to powder. Dipping candles teaches how things accumulate and grow. At Fort Menendez, St. Augustine, FL. Historic games are an obvious attraction, but he […]

Two-year olds may not understand labels or the concept of the past, but they are wonderful explorers. The atmosphere of historic places is stimulation for their imaginations. Discovering the confined space of a watchtower and the feel of a cannon’s barrel may foster an appreciation of history and artifacts. At the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument. […]

While I no longer find time to add blog posts here, I am still researching, writing, and exploring! Click on the tabs at top right for more information on me, my publications, talks, news, and projects.

I’ve been taking a break from this blog to dedicate time to new research, teaching, and public history projects. I hope to begin writing again summer 2014. In the meantime, please browse the tabs at top right for more information on me and my work.

When she walked through the tropical forest, adventurer Osa Johnson found the nature of the jungle troubling. In Last Adventure, her account of her last expedition to Borneo in 1935-6 with her husband Martin, she describes hacking through a “solid jungle wall of tangled foliage . . . nature’s last and strongest defense,” and being struck [...]

William Beebe believed zoos had the potential to inspire. Visitors must be, he insisted, “pleased, entertained and instructed.” Artists, he continued, should observe grace and color. Ornithologists should find answers to their scientific inquiries. Foreigners should view reminders of their homeland with pride, and the “child of the slums” should stand “speechless with delight.” Beauty, [...]

William Beebe believed zoos had the potential to inspire. Visitors must be, he insisted, “pleased, entertained and instructed.” Artists, he continued, should observe grace and color. Ornithologists should find answers to their scientific inquiries. Foreigners should view reminders of their homeland with pride, and the “child of the slums” should stand “speechless with delight.” Beauty, [...]

This past summer, artist Todd McGrain placed a sculpture on Martha's Vineyard in memory of the extinct heath hen. His statue stands along a bike path in the former reserve meant to save the dwindling species, now known as Manuel F. Correllus State Forest. McGrain's installment looks smooth and graceful as it shines darkly against [...]

"For one species to mourn the death of another is a new thing under the sun. The Cro-Magnon who slew the last mammoth thought only of his prowess. The sailor who clubbed the last auk thought of nothing at all. But we, who have lost our pigeons, mourn the loss. Had the funeral been ours, [...]