ONE of the most famous museum exhibits in the country is coming to the North-East as part of a national tour.

Dippy, a 21.3 metre long Diplodocus skeleton cast, is coming to the Great North Museum: Hancock in Newcastle in 2019.

The Northern Echo: The skull of the Diplodocus housed at the NHM, London © Trustees of the Natural History Museum

The skull of the Diplodocus housed at the NHM, London © Trustees of the Natural History Museum

He was first unveiled to the British public in 1905 and is cast from a skeleton found in Wyoming in the United States seven years earlier.

The model is 4.3 metres wide and 4.25 metres high and has thrilled visitors at London’s Natural History Museum for over 100 years.

Iain Watson, director of Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums, said: “Dippy’s a national treasure and we can’t wait to introduce him to our replica T-Rex Big Mike, who is similarly loved by the people of Newcastle.

“Of course, the tour is not just about dinosaurs and we’re looking forward to using Dippy’s profile to engage our audiences with the richness of the natural world.”

It is the first time Dippy will go on display outside the capital, touring eight venues around England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Visitors at the Great North Museum: Hancock will be able to see him from May to October in 2019.

Professor Eric Cross, Dean of Cultural Affairs at Newcastle University, said: “Many of us went through that phase as young children of being dinosaur mad. “Not all of us have grown out of this, even though we can’t remember all those long names any more.

“Dippy’s visit will not only give the Great North Museum: Hancock a further boost as a museum of national importance following the Great Exhibition of the North, but it will help illustrate some of the key global challenges such as sustainability and climate change that are central to the university’s research.”

From early 2018 to late 2020, Dippy will visit the following eight venues in chronological order: Dorset County Museum; Birmingham Museum; Ulster Museum; Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow; Great North Museum: Hancock; National Assembly for Wales; Number One Riverside, Rochdale; and Norwich Cathedral.

Dippy’s last day on show in London will be Wednesday January 4, 2017. Conservators will then take the next 12 months to prepare the delicate object for its journey around the UK.

A diving Blue Whale skeleton will take Dippy’s place in the main hall as the latest part in an epic, inspiring story of the history of life on planet Earth.

Sir Michael Dixon, director of the Natural History Museum, said: “We wanted Dippy to visit unusual locations so he can draw in people that may not traditionally visit a museum.

“Making iconic items accessible to as many people as possible is at the heart of what museums give to the nation, so we have ensured that Dippy will still be free to view at all tour venues.

“Few museum objects are better known. Surely no one object better evokes the awesome diversity of species that have lived on Earth?”

DINO FACTS

  • WHEN it was unveiled to the public in 1905, Dippy became a star, and has since featured in newspaper cartoons, news reports, films and television.
  • Dippy featured in the Disney film One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing.
  • Diplodocus was first described as a new type of dinosaur in 1878 by Professor Othniel C Marsh at Yale University.
  • The species lived sometime between 156 and 145 million years ago and belongs to a group called sauropods, meaning 'lizard feet'.
  • When railroad workers unearthed the fossilised bones of a Diplodocus in Wyoming, USA in 1898, newspapers billed the discovery as the 'most colossal animal ever on Earth'.
  • Scottish-born millionaire businessman Andrew Carnegie heard the reports and set out to acquire the bones as a centrepiece for his new museum in Pittsburg.
  • During the reconstruction of the skeleton at the Carnegie Museum, experts discovered subtle differences from the two other Diplodocus species known at the time, Diplodocus longus and Diplodocus lacustris.
  • The new species was named Diplodocus carnegii in honour of its owner.
  • King Edward VII saw a sketch of the Diplodocus while visiting Carnegie at his Scottish castle and remarked how much he'd like a similar specimen for the animal galleries of the Natural History Museum.
  • Carnegie obliged by commissioning a replica cast of his dinosaur.
  • The 292-bone skeleton arrived in London in 36 packing cases and was unveiled to the public four months later in a lavish ceremony for 300 people, on Friday May 12, 1905.
  • During World War II the skeleton was disassembled and relocated to the basement to protect it from bomb damage.
  • In 1979, the Diplodocus made the move to Hintze Hall, where it will remain until 2017.