After eight impactful years, the president of the Buffalo Museum of Science is stepping down.
Mark Mortenson, who oversees the museum and Tifft Nature Preserve, is taking over as the chief executive officer for Grand Canyon Resort Corporation. Mortenson, who spent two decades with the Walt Disney Company, transformed science exhibits in the East Side museum into more hands-on learning experiences.
"Since March of 2012, we've been on a fairly aggressive path of transforming our permanent exhibition spaces into what we refer to as 'science studios,' which are interactive, hands-on experiences providing some very relevant learning about science and its impact on our community," said Mortenson.
He is also credited with running successful fundraising campaigns that wiped out earlier losses and reduced the museum's reliance on its endowment, raising $6.1 million so far.
Mortenson has also helped utilize Tifft Nature Preserve for student programs.
“At Tifft Nature Preserve, our demand for programming was exceeding our resources that we had at the building. So just recently, we added almost 4,000 square feet to the existing structure in order to capture that increased demand," said Mortenson.
Mortenson’s deputy director, Karen Wallace, will be interim head while the board looks for a new president.
