Dippy the Diplodocus leaves London

Dippy the Diplodocus - Natural History Museum in London

Yesterday was the last day of Dippy in the Natural History Museum in London. Since 1905 it was dominating the entrance of the museum. The Diplodocus was presented by a Scottish-born American industrialist Andrew Carnegie to the museum.

Dippy is a skeleton of 292 pieces of bones made of plaster-of-paris. It is dark grayish brown in color. It stands in a height of 22 feet and 84 feet in length. The Diplodocus was discovered in 1878 by professor Othniel C Marsh at Yale University. The name Diplodocus derived from Greek - diplos(double) and dokos(beam), it refers to the formation of bones at the bottom of its tail.  These giant dinosaurs lived between 156 and 145 million years ago. 

A team is working on the process of dismantling the Dippy and the conservators will prepare for 12 months on the soft plaster-of-paris for the journey. The show will be on 8 locations around Britain from 2018 up to 2020. This tour is organised for the common people to know about the importance of museum. It will be displayed at: Dorset County Museum, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Ulster Museum, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow Great North Museum, Hancock, Newcastle upon Tyne, National Assembly for Wales, Number One Riverside, and Rochdale Norwich Cathedral.

In the place of Dippy, a real skeleton of blue female whale will be placed. The 83 feet whale is of 4.4 tonne weight. It was already there inside the museum and now it will be moved to the entrance. 

At the end of 2020, Dippy will be displayed outside the museum in form of bronze cast.