As a student, Marie (not Maria, not Mary, not Mario, not Marle, not Mark) became fascinated not just with the stars themselves, but with how humans throughout history tried to understand them. This curiosity led them to earn a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Science from Florida Institute of Technology, where they studied astrophysics, physics, and history. Naturally, the next step was asking how ancient cultures made sense of the sky long before telescopes, satellites, and smartphone weather apps.

That question led to Florida State University, where Marie earned a Master of Arts in History and Criticism of Art with a concentration in Indigenous Archaeology and Museum Studies. Their graduate research explored how Indigenous and Mesoamerican societies recorded astronomical knowledge through architecture, mythology, tools, and cultural traditions—particularly the careful observation of the sun and the tracking of celestial cycles to measure time.

Over the years, Marie has excavated and conserved artifacts from a real-life pirate ship (yes, actually. You can look this up and see photos online, for better or worse), managed museum collections, designed exhibitions, conducted historical research, and developed educational programs intended to make science and history less intimidating and more approachable for the public.

Marie has held several museum leadership roles, including serving as Interim Museum Director at the National Veterans Memorial and Museum, where they helped guide operations, exhibitions, and community engagement initiatives. Earlier in their career, they directed the Brooks Academy Museum and A. Elmer Crowell Barn Museum for the Harwich Historical Society, overseeing collections, exhibitions, historic preservation work, and the general mayhem that comes with running historic sites— particularly in the three tumultuous years of tornado, pandemic, and relocating the entire contents of three floors of collections and exhibits when the million dollar preservation project gets approved by local government.

Alongside museum work, Marie continues to contribute to various media projects, publications, research initiatives, and public programs. They also serve as a Solar System Ambassador volunteer with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, sharing information about planetary science, space exploration, and astronomy with communities and classrooms.

Outside of work, Marie can usually be found drinking an alarming amount of tea and espresso, attempting to visit every surviving site connected to the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, spending time with their spouse Matt, their dogs Xochi and Khonsu (Zu), and their koi pond.

Other hobbies include playing the oboe, beekeeping, sword-fighting, crossword puzzles, making spreadsheets, playing the Assassin’s Creed video games (for research purposes, obviously), teaching themself new crafts or skills whenever possible, and maintaining an undefeated reputation in trivia competitions.

Marie also holds several personal beliefs, including that daylight savings time, the concept of aging while traveling across time zones, modern and historical currency, and preconceived notions about pronouns are all arbitrary human constructs.

Long live chaos.

Topics of Expertise: 

• Archaeoastronomy

• Egyptian archaeology 

• Mesoamerican (specifically Maya, Aztec-Nahuatl) archaeology

• Precolumbian Southeastern US (Woodland, Mississippian)

• Astronomy and space science

• Maritime archaeological conservation

• Pseudoscience debunking

Education:
Master of Arts 2013, History and Criticism of Art | Concentration in Indigenous Archaeology and Museum Studies
Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL. 

Bachelor of Science 2011, Interdisciplinary Science | Minors: Physics, History
Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL.

Publications:
Smithsonian History of North America Map by Map. (2024) London, New York, Dorling Kindersley Limited. Author

Back to Life: World History as You’ve Never Seen it Before. (2022) London, New York, Dorling Kindersley Limited. Contributing Consultant

Zahn, Marie Kesten. “Raiders of the Lost Science.” The Skeptic, vol. 42, no. 2, 2022, pp. 28-37. Author

Kesten, Marie. (2011) "Is The Truth Out There? An Analysis of Pre-Columbian Pyramids and Mounds in the Americas and the Literature that Defines Archaeological Studies." Ed. Lars Jones. Florida Institute of Technology Dissertation

Zahn, Marie Kesten. “The Science and History of Shipwreck Archaeology and Conservation” Lecture

Zahn, Marie Kesten. “Pseudoscience and Archaeology: How the Media Blends Fact and Fiction” Lecture 

Languages:

• English: native proficiency

• Spanish: professional working proficiency

• Greek: limited working proficiency

• Italian: limited working proficiency

• German: limited working proficiency

• Nahuatl: elementary working proficiency

• ASL: elementary working proficiency

Awards:
40 Under 40 Honoree | Issued by Cape & Plymouth Business Media - August 2022
"The Cape & Plymouth Business Media 40 under 40 awards spotlight the region’s top young business leaders who excel in their industry and show dynamic leadership. Nominees must demonstrate a commitment to the community and giving back, and have exemplary leadership qualities."