Meet Chris Zachow, Treasurer, MMNSF Board of Directors
When I was a child, my father often worked evenings and weekends. To give my mother a much-needed break, he would take my two younger brothers and I into Washington D.C. from our home in Maryland.
There, we would visit the many Museums, which were free back then. We saw so many fascinating exhibits, we saw all the magnificent gems, the First Ladies’ gowns, the air and space exhibits, famous paintings and sculptures, multiple fossils, the stuffed elephant in the Smithsonian entrance foyer, and dinosaur exhibits. It was a wonderful time to see and to learn.
Museums remained a fascination for me as I grew older. When my children were young, I chose our vacation destinations by what Museums we could visit. And I still do.
Living in Jackson with children, the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science was a welcome get away, and we loved the old Museum. We could see the alligators in the center, and then we could watch the bees in their hives. The dioramas were so detailed and fed the imagination of all of us. Then, the new Museum was built on LeFleur’s Bluff and it was wonderful! The aquariums, the fossils, the dioramas, the trails, and the traveling exhibits! Something new for us to go see twice a year!
I was honored when Libby Hartfield asked me to be on the Board of the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation in 2002. I was there listening and learning when the then President, George Allen, moved out of state and I became Board President in 2007. It was a lot of work but a lot of fun. The years flew by. In 2023 I realized we needed a professional to lead the MMNS Foundation forward. We restructured our organization and hired Susan Frazier to be the Executive Director in 2024. A wonderful decision if I do say so. I have moved into the role of Treasurer on the Board and will retire at the end of 2025. I’ll dearly miss the fine folks who work for and who serve on the MMNS Foundation Board.
It’s been such an incredible experience and I treasure every moment of it. The Museum Directors I worked with, Libby, Charles, and Angel were incredible in their dedication to the museum and to its staff. Their direction and perseverance made the MMNS a wonderful place to enjoy and to learn. The staff is incredible with their varied talents as educators, imagineers, problem solvers, scientists and also in their role as representatives of our state to visitors from all over the world. I can’t say enough of the quality of the staff and its leaders. They are truly remarkable. Mississippi is blessed to have them.
The Mississippi Museum of Natural Science will always be my favorite museum. But I already have plans to visit a couple more museums as my husband and I enjoy our retirement.
ABOUT CHRIS
Chris Zachow grew up in Virgina, Maryland, and New Jersey before attending Birmingham-Southern Alabama.
She's married to Dr. Steve Zachow and is the mother of three grown children: Kim, an OB-GYN with Baptist Clinic for Women in Jackson; Alix, a College Instructor at UH in Houston; and Zac, a Project Manager at Nvent (formerly Avail Electrical) in Richland.
When she's not at the Museum, she is a water aerobics instructor at the Y and is enjoying retirement with her husband. They plan to travel and enjoy more museums around the country.