Natural History Museum says farewell to DIPPY the dinosaur as it heads on a UK tour
THE Natural History Museum in London will be saying goodbye to Dippy the Dinosaur as it heads on a UK tour.
Dippy the Dinosaur prepares to go on tour
Today will be the last chance to see the Natural History Museum’s most famous dinosaur skeleton.
As of tomorrow, Dippy the Diplodocus dinosaur will be disassembled before it heads off on a UK tour.
The dinosaur skeleton, which is made of plaster, has been at the London museum for 109 years.
This giant centrepiece in the Hintz Hall has welcomed visitors for years and has inspired generations of children.
Today is the last chance to see Dippy the dinosaur at London's Natural History Museum
Dippy the dinosaur was unveiled in 1905 at the museum
The move to take down Dippy comes as museum bosses believed the dinosaur is no longer relevant enough
The move to take down Dippy comes as museum bosses believed the dinosaur is no longer relevant enough to what is happening in the natural world today.
Dippy is going to be replaced by an 83 foot long, real skeleton of a blue whale.
The blue whale will be suspended from the ceiling.
The new centrepiece will be on displace from summer 2017.
Dippy the Dinosaur prepares to go on tour
The blue whale skeleton being prepared by experts
So what will happen to Dippy?
Dippy the dinosaur will be touring the UK from early 2018 until late 2020.
This will be the first time the famous dinosaur skeleton will be going on display outside the capital.
Dippy is scheduled to visit Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland as well as five regions across England.
An artist impression of what the blue whale skeleton will look like in the Hintz Hall
It will be on display at the following locations:
- Dorset County Museum
- Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
- Ulster Museum
- Kelvin Grove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow
- Great North Museum: Hancock, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
- National Assembly for Wales
- Number One Riverside, Rochdale
- Norwich Cathedral
Before Dippy heads off on its tour, conservators will spend a year preparing the plaster for the journey.
Hintz Hall will also be closed from tomorrow until summer 2017.
The story comes after it was announced visitors to The Making of Harry Potter Studio Tours in Leavesden, near Watford, have only until January 29 to see Hogwarts in the Snow.