Dippy (London)

Dippy returned to London in June 2022,[1] and then moved to Coventry as a long-term loan to the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum in 2023.

The 292 cast pieces of the skeleton were sent to London in 36 crates, and the 21.3 metres (70 ft) long exhibit was unveiled on 12 May 1905, to great public and media interest, with speeches from the museum director Professor Ray Lankester, Andrew Carnegie, Lord Avebury on behalf of the trustees, the director of the Carnegie Museum William Jacob Holland, and finally the geologist Sir Archibald Geikie.

Carnegie paid to have additional casts made for display in many European capitals – including Berlin, Paris, Vienna, Bologna, St Petersburg and Madrid; one sent to Munich was never erected – as well as Mexico City and La Plata in Argentina, making Dippy the most-viewed dinosaur skeleton in the world.

The cast in London quickly became an iconic representation of the museum, and has featured in many cartoons and other media, including the 1975 Disney comedy One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing.

Dippy replaced a mounted African elephant, nicknamed George, which had been on display as the central exhibit in the main hall since 1907, with various other animal specimens.

After 112 years on display at the museum, the dinosaur replica was removed in early 2017 to be replaced by the skeleton of a young blue whale, 25 metres (82 ft) long, dubbed "Hope", suspended from the ceiling.