Joel Bartsch: HMNS Upgrades Burke Baker Planetarium

Thursday, December 22, 2022

HMNS Upgrades Burke Baker Planetarium

A longtime resident of Houston, Texas, Joel Bartsch initially served as a curator and director of earth sciences at the Houston Museum of Natural Science (HMNS) for 14 years, working closely with the museum president in negotiating international and domestic exhibition contracts while developing strong working relationships with major museums around the world. Since 2004, Joel A. Bartsch has served as the president and CEO of the HMNS.

The Burke Baker Planetarium at the Houston Museum of Natural Science was launched in 1964. The sole purpose of the exhibit space is to enhance visitors' knowledge of space and astronomical phenomena through the various astronomical programs presented at the hall. As of 2022, HMNS is pleased to announce an upgrade to the planetarium. The upgrade entails the integration of Digistar 6, an advanced graphics-based digital projection and planetarium software. Thanks to Digistar 6, HMNS visitors can access some of the latest full-dome shows worldwide.

A remarkable feature of the upgrade is its annexed Digistar Cloud Library. With access to the global cloud library, HMNS will continue entertaining and educating visitors with the latest discoveries.

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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.