Kelly’s childhood interest in nature continued into his adult life.
  He kept several dozen cages filled with different types of reptiles in his house.
 He also learned how to handle rattlesnakes and harvest their venom.
 Later on in his career, Kelly received the title of Honorary Curator by The Division of Reptiles and Amphibians at the University of Michigan.

He also studied mycology, including mushroom identification, mycophagy, and research on mycologists.
He collected a variety of different fungi and kept a list of species and observations.
In 1924, with the help of Louis Krieger, he published a catalog of his mycological library, illustrations, and specimens, which had over 400,000 entries, an archive of artworks, 7000 titles on mushrooms, and replicas of fungi.
 In 1928, Kelly donated his collection to the Herbarium of the University of Michigan.
This collection has been designated as The L. C. C. Krieger Mycological Library and Collections.

He also collected coins, mineral samples, Mexican pottery, oil lamps, and had several shrunken heads.

He also had a log cabin on the Ahmic Lake with its own library, microscopes, and field glasses; there was a seating area on roof and he had a telescope to observe the stars.
Kelly’s childhood interest in nature continued into his adult life.   He kept several dozen cages filled with different types of reptiles in his house.  He also learned how to handle rattlesnakes and harvest their venom.  Later on in his career, Kelly received the title of Honorary Curator by The Division of Reptiles and Amphibians at the University of Michigan.
He also studied mycology, including mushroom identification, mycophagy, and research on mycologists. He collected a variety of different fungi and kept a list of species and observations. In 1924, with the help of Louis Krieger, he published a catalog of his mycological library, illustrations, and specimens, which had over 400,000 entries, an archive of artworks, 7000 titles on mushrooms, and replicas of fungi.  In 1928, Kelly donated his collection to the Herbarium of the University of Michigan. This collection has been designated as The L. C. C. Krieger Mycological Library and Collections.
He also collected coins, mineral samples, Mexican pottery, oil lamps, and had several shrunken heads.
He also had a log cabin on the Ahmic Lake with its own library, microscopes, and field glasses; there was a seating area on roof and he had a telescope to observe the stars.
Howard Atwood Kelly