Marc Etkind joins CHM as its new president and CEO with an extensive background in science and technology media, most recently as head of communications at NASA, where he led a team of 400 people across 10 centers, with responsibility that included news, exhibits, and historical preservation. He spearheaded a digital transformation for the agency, creating a new streaming service, modernizing the website, and expanding the reach of more than a dozen social media platforms to engage nearly 400 million followers.
Marc is a self-described "science and tech nerd" and museum lover. He discovered his future career at the age of ten, when he had an incredible experience watching chicks hatching at the Museum of Science in Boston with his dad.
As he joins CHM, Marc shared moments that inspired him and prepared him to lead the Museum forward.
I was blessed to be at NASA during four years of incredible, groundbreaking missions, including the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope, the first flight on another planet, returning the first American samples from an asteroid, and the first planetary protection mission—where we crashed a space craft into an asteroid to see if we could move it.
I have a soft spot for my favorite project, the James Webb Space Telescope that had been decades in the making. I got to tell the story of its launch and the return of its first images in a variety of ways that inspired people, including sharing the images with the White House, working with Artechouse to create an immersive museum experience, doing documentaries, and even working with a fashion designer to do a show around the images.
Marc's phone case depicts an image from the Webb Space Telescope.
At NASA, we had the goal and freedom to always look for new ways to tell stories and reach new audiences in ways that hadn't been done before. I'm excited to bring that to CHM and ask who we can partner with and what emerging technologies we can use to create “wow” moments.
I was really proud to work on MythBusters and BattleBots. They were entertaining and inspired the next generation's interest in science. But of course, my favorite show was Silicon Valley: The Untold Story, which we premiered at the Computer History Museum.
CHM is known as a “hidden gem.” My goal is to make it unhidden. I’m also excited about creating new exhibits and digital experiences, and the potential for Open CHM to make every artifact in the Museum’s incredible collection accessible for the whole world.
I have three principles I've used throughout my career:
I’m joining CHM at a pivotal moment in the AI revolution. It’s exciting and exhilarating to think about the impact it's going to have on things like drug development, treatment plans, looking for cures. We're in the infancy of seeing how this technology is going to change our lives. As with any new technology, there are “watch outs,” but the potential for benefit is so great, and I'm excited to see this next generation, not just in tech, but also in medicine and science.
As a fan of museums, I believe the in-person experience is ideal for creating the emotional connections and community that people are hungry for. One crucial role is to inspire the next generation to go into science and technology and become the inventors and creators of the future.
CHM's list of luminaries is long. One of the things that excites me is telling the stories of pivotal but unrecognized “unsung heroes” throughout the industry.
I spent the last four years working for NASA, so of course it's the Apollo Guidance Computer. (Check it out in CHM's Revolution exhibit.)
I’m married to a fellow science and tech nerd who is a researcher with a PhD in educational technology. We have two small dogs.
I really want to see the Northern Lights.
My advice is always to wear comfortable shoes. You can enjoy the museum for longer.
