Dippy virtual tour launched

Dippy in Number One Riverside

The Natural History’s Museum’s famous dinosaur cast, Dippy, which is currently under temporary lockdown at Number One Riverside, Rochdale, has been brought into people’s homes via a brand new virtual tour.

The superstar exhibit is currently in  Number One Riverside in Rochdale town centre as part of an eight stop tour of the UK and proved a huge success, attracting over 110,000 visitors in its first five weeks before coronavirus prompted a temporary suspension of the tour.

With both Number One Riverside and the accompanying Dippy exhibition at Touchstones Rochdale, Museum and Art Gallery, temporarily closed, the council and Link4Life wanted to find a way to share Dippy with the public. To do this they harnessed the power of technology to enable dino fans to see Dippy in Number One Riverside and enjoy the Dippy exhibition at Touchstones from the safety of their home.

Councillor Janet Emsley, cabinet member for community, culture and neighbourhoods at Rochdale Borough Council, said: “Dippy went down an absolute storm in Rochdale. We welcomed over 110,000 visitors in just five weeks. More than 9,000 schoolchildren from 100 schools across the region met Dippy and visited the exhibition at Touchstones as part in this once in a lifetime experience. We created something incredibly special here and were obviously sorry to have to close our doors so early in the run.

“We don’t want people to miss out on Dippy because they can’t visit him. That’s why we organised the virtual tour, so people can still have access to this wonderful opportunity despite everything that’s going on.”

Dippy’s stay in Rochdale was due to end on 28 June, but tour dates may change as a result of the ongoing situation.

The virtual tour of Dippy in Number One Riverside and the Dippy exhibition at Touchstones Rochdale, can be viewed at:

• visitrochdale.com/dippy

Dippy on Tour is being brought to Number One Riverside, Rochdale 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.