Kirk Johnson: Director of the National Museum of Natural History | Dinosaurs and Squirrels and Bears, Oh My! | Episode 011

Museums are illuminating places, and no one knows that better than Kirk Johnson, the Sant Director of the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institute. He believes that museums are the last bastions of the real thing: one of the only places left where you can come face-to-face with an authentic artifact and experience it first hand. Listen in as Chance and Sarah Kathryn talk with Kirk about his experience as the Director over the last few years; everything from innovative technology to the magical surprises that come with working at a world class museum of natural history.

Do you know what animal is the closest living relative to a bear? Or how many squirrel specimens can be found in the National Squirrel Collection? Kirk shares these tidbits and more!

If you're in the DC area, check out the new exhibit "Deep Time" opening this Saturday, June 8th 2019! It's more than a fossil room, it tells the story of life on our planet from the earliest organisms to modern day, and continues on into the future of what our planet may look like!

Here are some of our favorite quotes from this episode:

"I prefer to think of museums as the last bastion of the real thing." - Kirk Johnson

"If you ask the question: what’s the nearest living animal to a bear, most people can’t answer that question. Can you?" - Kirk Johnson

"Down the hall from my office is the national squirrel collection, where we have 32 thousand squirrels." - Kirk Johnson

"The whole story of conservation is based on what do we stand to lose on planet Earth, and the first thing you have to know is what do we have on planet Earth." - Kirk Johnson

"It’s about 15 million years old. It’s on display in the new exhibit. You’ve probably never heard of it. David Attenborough had never heard of it! I was so psyched to stump David Attenborough." -Kirk Johnson