With the new whale skeleton taking over centre stage at the Natural History Museum, Dippy the diplodocus skeleton, is off on tour.

Dippy%2C Natural History Museum

Dippy is soon to embark on a two-year tour of the UK, visiting museums in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and five regions across England.

The tour aims to connect the nation with nature and history and spark the imagination of a new generation of scientists, naturalists and environmentalists.

About Dippy

The Dippy skeleton cast was first commissioned for the Natural History Museum in 1905 by Andrew Carnegie, an American businessman, who bought the bones of the first diplodocus ever discovered, for his museum in Pittsburgh.

Dippy had been on display in Hintze Hall in the Natural History Museum in London since 1979, before being taken down in January 2017 in preparation for his tour.  

What’s in Dippy’s place?

Covering for Dippy whilst he’s on tour, is Hope, the skeleton of a blue whale which is now on display in Hintze Hall. The female whale was given her name as a symbol of humanity’s power to shape a sustainable future.

The whale became stranded in 1891 in Wexford Harbour, Ireland, 10 years after the Museum opened in South Kensington. The skeleton was then bought by the museum and first went on display in the Mammal Hall in 1934, where it was suspended above a life-size model of a blue whale.

School visits to Natural History Museum

The Natural History Museum provides regular workshops suitable for schools and groups from all Key Stages, such as Dino Scene Investigation and Rock The House.

For visiting schools there are online resources available prior to your trip and there is an indoor picnic area which schools can book to use for lunch.

Teachers wanting to book should call 02079 425555.

For more information, visit www.nhm.ac.uk. 

Photo credit Trustess of NHM.

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