Joel Bartsch: Theater Offers State-of-the-Art Movie Experience at HMNS

Thursday, February 23, 2023

Theater Offers State-of-the-Art Movie Experience at HMNS

A graduate of Rice University, Joel Bartsch is a Houston, Texas resident who started his career at the Colorado School of Mines Geology Museum as a curatorial assistant and assistant to the director. Since then, he has held key roles at various prominent museums. Joel A. Bartsch serves as the president and CEO of the Houston Museum of Natural Science (HMNS).

The renovated Wortham Giant Screen Theatre at HMNS offers state-of-the-art 4K digital projection of large 3D images on a giant 60 x 80-foot screen. This enables clear visualization of roughly eight-story-high images. Families, seniors, students, and museum members are welcome to watch movies at the theater, which augments its quality 3D visuals with an enhanced six-track sound system.

As of Q4 2022, some of the shows at the Wortham Giant Screen Theatre are "Dinosaur Discoveries: A Holographic Adventure," "Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs," and "Sea Lions 3D." Dinosaur Discoveries: A Holographic Adventure is HMNS' first HoloTheater. HMNS works closely with BASE Xperiential to create this educational laser-aided 3D holographic imagery.

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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.