Indianola, Miss. ? The B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center has a new executive director.

Museum officials say in a news release that Dion Brown has been hired after a seven-month search. Connie Gibbons had been executive director of the museum.

The 46-year-old Brown is an Illinois native who comes to the Delta museum from Wichita, Kan., where he’s been chief operating officer at Exploration Place, a hands-on science and children’s museum.

Brown says he’s looking forward to learning more about the region’s history and working with the community.