Joel Bartsch is a Texas native and a museum leader who holds a master of arts in history and the history of science from Rice University. He has held several curator roles with natural history museums nationwide during the course of his career. In 2004, Joel A. Bartsch became the president and CEO of the Houston Museum of Natural Science (HMNS).
Wortham Giant Screen Theatre at HMNS was upgraded with special flooring, rocker seats, a high-dynamic-range (HDR) screen, and state of the art digital sound systems to augment the immersive effect of the theater on audiences. Theatergoers (families, seniors, and students) visit the theater to experience “larger-than-life” stories of weather phenomena, oceans, wildlife, and faraway places.
Due to the large capacity of the hall, HMNS realized the need to implement a fastidious sanitary process between shows to keep visitors safe. The auditorium is thoroughly cleaned and sanitized between showings. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, HMNS only allows a fraction of the theater's capacity per show to allow social distancing.
