Joel Bartsch: Paleo Lab - Engage with Dinosaur Experts

Wednesday, March 17, 2021

Paleo Lab - Engage with Dinosaur Experts

A Houston, Texas resident, Joel A. Bartsch has a career in history and natural science spanning 41 years, including his present position as the president and CEO of the Houston Museum of Natural Science. At one time, Joel Bartsch worked at the Texas Memorial Museum (TMM), which features state anthropological, archeological, and paleontological finds.

TMM hosts a Paleo Lab, which offers visitors the chance to interact with dinosaur experts and learn about their work. Texas is home to dinosaurs of the Cretaceous Era, 66 to 145 million years ago. Teeth, bones, and tracks have been found in Texas's Big Bend region, and the Paleo Lab is ground zero for interested visitors to see how these dinosaur remains are preserved. The projects of the Paleo Lab include studies of the remains of Pleistocene mammals found in a creek in Travis County.

While the professionals at the lab are experts, they do not perform fossil identifications for legal purposes or monetary value. The site has posted operating hours online, but it has been closed until further notice.

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About Joel Bartsch

Since 2004, Joel A. Bartsch has led the Houston Museum of Natural Science (HMNS) as president and CEO. In this capacity, he coordinates and leads museum staff and curators in the creation and maintenance of immersive exhibits, implements renovation strategies, and promoting museum-wide leadership. Through these efforts and many others, Joel A. Bartsch has nearly doubled both the institution’s annual attendance and membership base. He also oversaw two major expansions at the museum that added more than 250,000 square feet of space.

Mr. Bartsch began gaining experience in museum leadership more than three decades ago, when he joined the Colorado School of Mines Geology Museum as a curatorial assistant and assistant to the director. He held this role during his last years as a mining engineering student at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden. From there, Mr. Bartsch took on staff roles at the Texas Memorial Museum and HMNS, curator of earth sciences at Lyman House Memorial Museum in Hawaii, and director and curator of the California State Mining & Mineral Museum.

Through these positions, Joel Bartsch gained extensive experience in everything from managing daily operations and directing fundraising efforts to writing corporate grant requests. He drew on this experience when he returned to HMNS as a curator, project manager, and director of earth sciences, the positions he held immediately prior to his current role as the president and CEO.