Jan Luth, president of Exploration Place, will retire from the Wichita science museum in October.
Luth has worked 35 years in the museum and science center industry. She joined Exploration Place in 2010.
She said she’s proud of the work being done at Exploration Place. The staff is connecting with a national audience.
“The staff is serving on committees now, presenting papers at national conferences, writing articles for journals and none of those things were happening nine years ago,” she said. “I’m profoundly thrilled that that is now happening.”
Luth said it’s a good time for a leadership change at the museum. Exploration Place will begin its year-long 20th-anniversary celebration in January.
The museum’s next president will need to embrace the challenges and opportunities that the anniversary events will bring, Luth said.
She said the museum plans to hire a recruiting firm to lead a national search for the next president.
Luth said she wants to give enough time for she and her husband to enjoy their retirement. That’s another reason she’s leaving in October.
“I’m at a stage in life where I’m ready for that new phase and to spend some wonderful, healthy years with my husband traveling with our camper and seeing America,” Luth said.
Audrey Korte is an intern in the KMUW News Lab.