A museum executive with a four-decade career in natural history and science, Joel Bartsch has served several significant roles in the museum sector throughout his career. As president and CEO of the Houston Museum of Natural Science (HMNS) as president and CEO, Joel A. Bartsch coordinates the museum's employees, develops educational programming, and manages philanthropic initiatives.
In September 2022, the Houston Museum of Natural Science announced an impending partnership with Base Xperiential in a project poised to upgrade the Wortham Giant Screen Theatre with holographic imaging technology. The Wortham Giant Screen Theatre at HMNS will receive side screens to augment the center screen in the exhibit hall with panoramic functionality. Projectors for holographic displays will make their first entrance into the hall (and the entire museum generally). With these upgrades, HMNS, for the first time since its inception in 1909, will offer a holo theater experience.
When the museum announced the projects, it anticipated debuting the retrofitted version of the Wortham Giant Screen Theatre with "Dinosaur Discoveries: A Holographic Adventure" displayed on the screens in November 2022. Audiences don't need special glasses to experience the holographic displays in the upgraded hall fully. In addition to the paleontological film, the HMNS team planned to include movies that pivoted around the ocean, space, and ancient civilizations in the first series of displays at the retrofitted hall.
