Update on Dippy On Tour in the North West

Dippy in Number One Riverside

The Dippy exhibition in Rochdale has been suspended, as have many other major planned events.

The exhibition will no longer be open to the public following the coronavirus pandemic, and it is not known whether Dippy will continue onto his last stop of his eight-stop trip.

The council will review the possibility of reopening the exhibit in the future.

A spokesperson for Rochdale Council said: “In light of the current situation, along with our colleagues at Link4Life, we’ve taken the difficult decision to suspend Dippy in Rochdale.

“Dippy in Number One Riverside and the fantastic Dippy exhibition at Touchstones Rochdale have brought joy to many and we’re incredibly proud to have welcomed 110,000 people during his stay, including almost 9,000 schoolchildren from more than 100 schools across the region.

“But the health and safety of our residents and visitors must come first and now is the time to take a pause.

“We will review the possibility of reopening Dippy on Tour in Rochdale in the coming months.

“We would like to thank our visitors, our first class volunteers and the sponsors and supporters of Dippy On Tour, both regional and national, for coming on this journey with us.

“We are also grateful to colleagues at the Natural History Museum for giving us this incredible opportunity; it’s been amazing. If we can reopen Dippy in the North West at a future date, we will.

“We always wanted Dippy to be just the start of your natural history adventure. Please stay tuned to our social media channels and we will update you as and when we can.”

Anyone who has bought tickets to our Dippy events will be contacted in due course and given a full refund.

If Dippy has inspired you to learn more, you can get some amazing facts and resources at: nhm.ac.uk and at: link4life.org/online-services/touchstones-online-collections

Interesting dino and natural world inspired facts will continue to be shared on the twitter account @dippyontour