Dippy to return to Natural History Museum next summer

Five years after it left London to embark on a UK-wide tour, Dippy the diplodocus cast will return to the Natural History Museum (NHM) in summer 2022 as part of a temporary installation.

Back in 2015, the museum announced plans to redisplay its Hintze Hall, which welcomes visitors to the building, including replacing the sauropod plaster-cast that had sat there for 35 years with a blue whale skeleton.

Dippy on Tour kicked off in February 2018, and since then the dinosaur has visited eight venues and been seen by more than 2 million visitors. Most recently it was on display at Norwich Cathedral.

The museum’s long-term plan was always to have the cast return home to London, and in summer 2022 it will feature in a new free installation running until Christmas – further details are expected in the coming months.

Doug Gurr, director of the NHM, said Dippy’s return would give people “the chance to see the nation’s favourite dinosaur in full splendour in South Kensington once again”.

He also praised the impact of the tour, which boosted visitor figures and spend at recipient museums.

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery attracted 140,000 additional visitors while hosting the cast, with visitors spending £4.2m in the city. At Dorset County Museum, yearly visitor numbers tripled in under three months with Dippy being seen by 153,189 people, providing a £2.25 million boost to the local economy.

And Belfast’s Ulster Museum reported its highest number of visitors ever for an exhibition in a single day (4,200) and received 131,902 visitors overall during Dippy’s visit to Northern Ireland.

The tour also brought the dinosaur to new audiences. In Rochdale, 80% of surveyed visitors had never seen Dippy before, and 94% visited the venues specifically to see Dippy.

“Our awe-inspiring goliath, Dippy, has smashed visitor records at every venue visited and brought a range of social and economic benefits to the surrounding communities,” Gurr said.

“Along with the joy of reaching new swathes of the UK population, the tour has aimed to highlight the importance of tackling the current planetary emergency, educating and inspiring visitors to explore the nature on their own doorsteps and become advocates for the planet.”

The decision to remove Dippy from display in the Hintze Hall was part of a larger plan to show new specimens in the space. The blue whale was chosen to give “an immediate, impactful introduction that illustrates museum research into the rich biodiversity of Earth and a sustainable future, as well as the origins and evolution of life”.

The decision caused some protest, including a "Save Dippy" petition signed by more than 32,000 people.