Smithsonian's Kirk Johnson to Lead Denver Museum of Nature & Science
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Denver – October 01, 2026 -- The Denver Museum of Nature & Science Board of Trustees has named Kirk Johnson, Sant Director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History since 2012, as its next president and CEO, effective Feb. 1, 2027.
Johnson departs a museum holding 149 million specimens and drawing 4 million annual visitors
At the Smithsonian, Johnson has overseen the world's largest natural history collection and one of the institution's most visited sites. His tenure included the opening of the David H. Koch Hall of Fossils – Deep Time, a flagship exhibition tying Earth's biological history to contemporary issues.