Joel Bartsch: Carnegie’s Hall of Botany Gets a Refresh

Friday, September 3, 2021

Carnegie’s Hall of Botany Gets a Refresh

Joel A. Bartsch, a Texas museum administrator from Houston, has accrued experience in the natural sciences and history for 41 years. Before his role as CEO and President at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History recognized Joel Bartsch with a Carnegie medal for his contributions to mineralogy.

The Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Hall of Botany reopened in May 2021, after an update. Since its inception in 1928, the Hall of Botany featured three-dimensional displays of plants as the centerpiece of the museum.

The renovation reintroduces biomes but within the context of teaching visitors the importance of plants in daily life. Upon entering the Hall, visitors encounter a mural depicting leaves that appear to move as the breeze runs through them.

This mural showcases the collection and preservation of specimens for the museum. Other additions include vibrant lighting, graphic design, new carpet, and introductory text that welcome visitors to the wildlife halls and dioramas.

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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.