A first look at Dippy on Tour in Rochdale

Date published: 05 February 2020

Just five days remain until Dippy the dinosaur opens to the public at Number One Riverside, and Rochdale Online was granted early access to the site on Wednesday morning (5 February), where construction is well underway.

First displayed in the Natural History Museum in London in 1905, the 21m-long plaster-of-Paris cast of a Diplodocus carnegii skeleton, will be at Number One Riverside in Rochdale town centre between 10 February and 28 June 2020.

The famous dinosaur left the museum for the first time in 2017 to embark on a national tour and Rochdale has been selected as one of its stops – the only North West stop on the tour.

 

 

 

 

Lorraine Cornish, Head of Conservation at the Natural History Museum, told us more about taking the famous dinosaur on tour around the UK.

She said: “Dippy has had a massive following; 1.5 million people have been to see him. Rochdale is a great area to bring Dippy, and he’s really creating a massive buzz! Children and adults alike are excited about Dippy.

“Taking him on tour has exceeded our expectations. He has had a huge socio-economic impact in each region, including for areas that people may not necessarily come to. Dippy visiting really puts places on the map – he’s a people’s dinosaur.”

 

 

 

 

Special checks are conducted on a regular basis to make sure all Dippy’s pieces are in place, and that they are in optimum condition.

Lorraine has accompanied Dippy around the UK, and even helped dismantle him in 2017 before he made his first stop in Dorset.

She said: “We know the skeleton so well, that we know which bits are trickier to put together. It’s like a complex 3D puzzle, but we’re getting faster at putting him up each time.”

 

 

Councillor Janet Emsley, cabinet member for culture, neighbourhoods and community at Rochdale Borough Council, with responsibility for Link4Life, said: “All our council officers have played a huge part in getting Dippy here, and I thank them for their hard work.

“Dippy coming to Rochdale is a once in a lifetime opportunity. We want this to be the standout memory for children visiting.

“When they are asked a time they remember from their childhood, we want them to remember Dippy coming to Rochdale.”

 

 

 

Approximately 30,000 schoolchildren are booked in already to visit Dippy, and Metrolink is running a special ‘kids for a quid’ promotion for bookings of more than 10 children (tram journeys must be booked in advance for the offer).

Lorraine added: “We really want people to come down and have their photo taken with Dippy.”

Known to millions from his usual home in the Natural History Museum, Dippy – which belongs to a group of dinosaurs called sauropods – will be used as the centrepiece of a display that will highlight local natural history and nature collections.

An accompanying show-stopping exhibition is rapidly taking shape at Touchstones Rochdale, which will feature everything from dinosaur poo and ancient swamplands to a special dinosaur gallery and planetary gallery.

• rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/132571/dinosaur-exhibition-to-mark-dippy-coming-to-rochdale

 

 

 

Dippy on Tour: A Natural History Adventure, is being brought to Number One Riverside and visitors across the UK by the Natural History Museum in partnership with the Garfield Weston Foundation, and supported by Dell EMC and Williams & Hill.

It’s free to see Dippy and visit the Dippy exhibition, but booking is required for schools and groups of 10+ people.

Special quiet time bookings for children with SEND needs are also available on the following days between 5.30pm and 7.30pm: Thursday 27 February, Thursday 19 March, Thursday 23 April, Thursday 14 May, Thursday 28 May and Thursday 18 June.

Bookings for quiet sessions can be made via: https://link4life.org/book-tickets/events/DIPPYQUIET/details

Dippy opens to the public on Monday 10 February.

Opening hours:

• Monday - Friday: 9am - 5pm
• Saturday - Sunday: 9.30am - 5pm
• Bank holidays: 10am - 4pm