Denver Museum of Nature & Science Bids Farewell to Chief Curator at Sold-Out Event; Limited Overflow Tickets Available

Kirk Johnson will become the Director of the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian

Denver-September 26, 2012-Dr. Kirk Johnson will present a farewell lecture at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science on Monday, October 1. This sold-out event will open with remarks from Governor John Hickenlooper and be followed by a celebratory reception for Johnson. He begins his new job as Director of the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian on October 29.

For the past six years, Johnson has been the Museum's chief curator and vice president of research and collections. During his 21-year tenure at the Museum, he has been deeply committed to engaging the public in science and education. The paleobotanist has traveled to seven continents and explored more than 1,400 fossil sites. From excavating a fossil tropical rain forest in Castle Rock, to leading a dozen trips to the Amazon, to searching for the K-T boundary in remote China, India, and New Zealand, and leading the Museum's largest excavation in its history at the Ice Age site in Snowmass Village, the world has been Johnson's sandbox.  

Johnson has shared his life of science and discovery by delivering hundreds of lectures, writing popular books about paleontology, collaborating with artists to tell science stories, leading research projects for citizen scientists, and touring many schoolchildren through the collections-all with contagious energy. He has been among the lead developers of the new Rocky Mountain Science Collections Center (RMSCC), now under construction and slated to open in 2014. The facility has long been a dream of Johnson's, where the Museum's 1.4 million treasures could be preserved, accessed, and studied in state-of-the-art conditions.

Dr. Johnson Goes to Washington - Live Broadcast

Monday, October 1, 7 p.m., $8 member, $10 nonmember, Reception with cash bar

Seating in the Phipps IMAX Theater is sold out.  Overflow seating has been added for this event in Ricketson Auditorium where you can watch a live broadcast, and then attend the cash bar reception celebration with Kirk.

Enjoy a farewell lecture from Kirk Johnson before he heads to Washington, D.C., to become director of the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian. During his 21 years at this Museum, Johnson traveled to seven continents and explored more than 1,400 fossil sites. He excavated a fossil tropical rain forest in Castle Rock, drilled a 2,200-foot-deep core in Kiowa to examine the geological history of the Denver Basin, led multiple trips on the Amazon, delved into the vast fossil landscape of Patagonia, searched for the K-T boundary in remote China, and directed the Museum's largest excavation in its history, at the Ice Age site in Snowmass Village. Celebrate with us as Johnson highlights 21 years of science adventures and discoveries, in his own indelible style. A reception with Johnson follows the lecture.

For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.

About the Denver Museum of Nature & Science

The Denver Museum of Nature & Science is the Rocky Mountain Region's leading resource for informal science education. A variety of engaging exhibits, discussions and activities help Museum visitors celebrate and understand the natural wonders of Colorado, Earth and the universe. The Museum is located at 2001 Colorado Blvd., Denver, CO, 80205.  To learn more about the Museum, check www.dmns.org, or call 303-370-6000. Many of the Museum's educational programs and exhibits are made possible in part by the citizens of the seven-county metro area through the Scientific & Cultural Facilities District.