Dippy

Dippy is the informal name for a life-size plaster-cast skeleton of the diplodocid dinosaur Diplodocus carnegii, commonly known as Dippy the Diplodocus. The specimen is best known for its long neck and tail and for its long association with the Natural History Museum in London, where it became one of the museum’s most recognizable exhibits.

The cast was produced in the early 20th century from fossils of Diplodocus carnegii and was donated to the Natural History Museum by the Carnegie family in memory of Andrew Carnegie. The display was assembled by museum staff and collaborators, and it served as a centerpiece of the museum’s public presentation of dinosaurs for many decades.

Display history has included periods of continuity as well as alteration. Dippy stood prominently in the museum’s main hall for much of the 20th century. In 2017 the hall’s centerpiece was changed to a blue whale skeleton named Hope, and Dippy was removed from the permanent display. From 2018 to 2020, Dippy toured the United Kingdom as part of the Dippy on Tour program, visiting multiple regional museums to promote science and paleontology. After the tour, the original cast was placed in storage, while the museum pursued other exhibition priorities.

Dippy has had a lasting cultural impact as an icon of popular science and paleontology, appearing in various media and educational programs. It helped introduce generations to dinosaur life and the history of natural history museums.

See also: Diplodocus, Natural History Museum, London.