Teens

All ages. Registration is not required. 

Millions of people visit the Grand Canyon every year. Some people may be familiar with the burros that inhabit the land. But have you heard of the burro, Brighty? Marguerite Henry’s 1953 book, Brighty of the Grand Canyon, as well as the 1966 movie that it inspired, are fictionalized accounts of a real-life, free-spirited burro that roamed Grand Canyon from the 1890s – 1920s. This program will look at the story of Brighty, connecting real vs fictional Arizona heritage, and how his story helped lead to a change in the National Park Service’s policy of removing feral burros from Grand Canyon National Park. Sponsored by AZ Humanities. 

About Kevin Schindler

Kevin Schindler is the historian at Lowell Observatory, where he has worked for 28 years as an active member of the Flagstaff history and science communities. Schindler has given more than 1,000
presentations and written more than 600 magazine and newspaper articles on subjects ranging from local history and astronomy to baseball and the Lincoln Memorial, and contributes a bi-weekly astronomy column, “View from Mars Hill”, for the Arizona Daily Sun newspaper. Schindler has written nine books, including Historic Tales of Flagstaff (written with Mike Kitt). Fun fact: Kevin has both a fossil crab and asteroid named after him.

About AZ Speaks and Arizona Humanities

AZ Speaks programs are hosted by Arizona Humanities’ Speakers and cultural, educational, and nonprofit organizations. Bringing AZ Speaks to your community is a great way for non-profits, libraries, educational institutions, governmental and tribal entities to enjoy interesting and engaging humanities-based programs. Speakers represent a diverse range of expertise, from a variety of professional backgrounds including history, gender studies, cultural studies, and more. Speakers are selected based on their expertise and ability to offer content and insight that inspires discussion with audiences of all ages and backgrounds.