Joel A. Bartsch is president and CEO of the Houston Museum of Natural Science (HMNS). Prior to his current role, Joel A. Bartsch served as a curator with the HMNS, which houses many unique fossils in its permanent collection, including a large, iridescent ammonite.

Much the same in form as today’s nautilus, ammonites had hollow chambers within a shell. Like submarines, they could float or sink, depending on air and water intake. Ammonites thrived throughout the Devonian and Cretaceous periods and lived in saltwater habitats around the globe. With each species lasting approximately one million years, they serve as “paleo-clocks” for researchers interested in creating timelines of events in the geologic past.

The multihued specimen in the HMNS collection was discovered in southern Alberta’s Bear Paw Formation, and has a cut that emphasizes its two-dimensional pattern. Another sand-colored specimen from the Late Cretaceous is rounded and three-dimensional, with its once-hollow chambers filled with minerals to create a solid piece.

Houston Museum of Natural Science (HMNS) CEO and president Joel A. Bartsch directs a museum with a mission to educate and offer insight into past cultures. A major accomplishment for Joel Bartsch and his team in 2021 was completing the renovation of the Hall of Ancient Egypt. The fully renovated hall opened in November with the exhibit “Ramses the Great and the Gold of Pharaohs.”
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The space spans 12,500 square feet and includes a permanent exhibit. This exhibit encompasses eight rooms that focus on specific areas of ancient Egyptian culture and life. A total of 92 cases contain artifacts and objects arranged in immersive settings. The settings seamlessly combine illuminated textures, colors, state-of-the-art sound, and LED lighting.

Among the noteworthy items on display is a gold funerary mask that was placed on the head and shoulders of a royal mummy, and an ancient statue of a cat. A section of the space “The Lives of Egyptian Women” focuses on jewelry recovered from archaeological sites. The Ramses exhibit also features a multimedia recreation of the battle at Kadesh with the prominent use of chariots.