Who: Coco Hackstaff, Denver Museum of Nature & Science docent
In the early days of Denver mom Coco Hackstaff’s training as a volunteer guide for student visitors to the Denver Museum of Natural History, another group of volunteers was hard at work hand-shaping wax leaves for trees used to forest the dioramas that were once the museum’s most advanced exhibits. Now, 36 years later, Hackstaff is a great-grandmother, the museum goes by the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and the institution’s focus has switched to a more active style of teaching. But Hackstaff, the first museum volunteer to log 35 consecutive years of service, still shows up each fall to lead young students through the dioramas and help them learn about the natural world far from Denver’s City Park.
The museum’s changed a lot since you joined the Honorary Association of Guide Services, or HAGS. Any regrets? Oh, no! I think it’s wonderful. I took my great-grandchildren to Grossology and thought it was very nice for them. They climbed up and took the slide down the esophagus, into the stomach and then came out as poop. They had so much fun!
Did you study science in college? I graduated with a history major from the University of Denver, in European history. I always have to say this: Dr. Josef Korbel, Madeleine Albright’s father and mentor of Condoleezza Rice, was my favorite professor at DU. I gravitated to Russian history.
Are there any Russian exhibits in the museum? There is a wonderful display of gems and minerals made into people by a Russian artist (Vasily Konovalenko), but it’s hidden away in the South America station.
The dioramas cover the world, from polar bears to animals from Africa. How did you know what to teach? We had to be trained. There was one man who would be a guide for children coming through the museum. Before he retired, he helped to train us. There were about 13 of us, and we got together one Thursday of each month at one of our houses to talk and exchange ideas. We continually have to educate ourselves.
Do you have an area of expertise? I do mostly bears.
Are any of the dioramas a must-see on your list? The Campbell Island exhibit, with the elephant seals and they way they painted part of the seals; it’s so clever. I think the wolf diorama is wonderful, too. And honestly, the African exhibit is fantastic, with all the animals coming to the water hole; that diorama is a work of art.
What makes these exhibits so appealing to you? Things that look real are not. The workmanship is fantastic and the artwork that was involved, and the collection trips. I’m old-fashioned, you see. I like that.
BEHIND THE DIORAMAS
Find out what’s real – and what’s not – in the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd. “Secrets of the Dioramas Tours,” which reveal the story behind the world-renowned wildlife displays, leave from the Insect exhibit on Level 1 at 12:30 and 2 p.m. every Saturday. Free with museum admission.
