Press Releases

Amgueddfa Cymru-National Museum Wales has been working in partnership with the Senedd, the main public building of the National Assembly for Wales to bring Dippy to Wales since 2016. Initially the Senedd was to be the Cardiff host for Dippy but following discussions, and in conjunction with the Natural History Museum, it has been agreed that National Museum Cardiff is the right home for Dippy during the Welsh leg of his UK tour. The dates for Dippy’s stay in Cardiff remain unchanged: Dippy on Tour will be at National Museum Cardiff from October 19, 2019 until January 26, 2020.

Director General, Amgueddfa Cymru, David Anderson says: “We are delighted to be hosting Dippy and look forward to giving him a warm Welsh welcome. Visitors to National Museum Cardiff will be able to marvel at Dippy and take the opportunity to meet his cousins in our natural history galleries, taking a journey from the very beginnings of time to the present day.  They can explore how Wales evolved, coming face to face with dinosaurs and other amazing animals along the way.”

The Llywydd, Elin Jones Assembly Member says: “The Commission is fully supportive of Dippy moving to National Museum Cardiff. Housing him there will provide thousands of visitors of all ages with fantastic opportunities to discover how the Welsh environment and life evolved in Wales when Dippy roamed the land. I look forward to seeing him there in all his Jurassic glory."

Dippy is currently resident at Dorset County Museum where he has welcomed over 125,000 visitors to date, outstripping all expectations. Each tour partner venue is using Dippy’s visit to showcase their local nature and natural history collections, forging new partnerships between regional cultural, scientific and wildlife organisations. The Jurassic Coast Trust is joint host in Dorset where the Trust has helped over 15,000 people adventure outside to enjoy their own natural history adventures.

The Natural History Museum’s Head of National Public Programmes, Exhibitions, Learning and Outreach, Katrina Nilsson says: “We are grateful for all support provided by the Senedd and are delighted to be working with Amgueddfa Cymru-National Museum Wales to ensure Dippy can be seen in Cardiff. We wanted to make sure we could share Dippy with each nation and it is exciting to think he will be in Wales next year where a new dinosaur cousin of Tyrannosaurus rex, the first meat-eating dinosaur ever found in the country, was discovered just three years ago.”

The dates for Dippy’s stay in Cardiff remain unchanged: Dippy on Tour will be at National Museum Cardiff from October 19, 2019 until January 26, 2020.

Never before on public display outside of the Natural History Museum, Dippy has delighted visitors since he arrived in London in 1905. The full skeleton in its displayed pose is an impressive 21.3 metres long, 4.3 metres wide and 4.17 metres high. 

The British icon is on a mission to inspire five million natural history adventures, encouraging families and schools to explore nature on their doorstep.

Dippy on Tour has been brought about by the Natural History Museum, in partnership with the Garfield Weston Foundation and supported by Dell EMC and Williams & Hill, working with partners UK wide to tour one of its most iconic exhibits over three years, with the aim of inspiring 1.5 million people to delve into natural history and think about the world around us.

The tour takes in the following venues, in chronological order:

• Dorset County Museum, 10 February - 7 May 2018
• Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, 26 May - 9 September 2018
• Ulster Museum, 28 September 2018 - 6 January 2019
• Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow, 22 January - 5 May 2019
• Great North Museum, Hancock, Newcastle upon Tyne, 18 May - 6 October 2019
• National Museum Cardiff, 19 October 2019 - 26 January 2020
• Number One Riverside, Rochdale, 10 February - 28 June 2020
• Norwich Cathedral, 11 July - 31 October 2020

Dinosaur fans who are not able to see Dippy in person can follow his journey by keeping an eye on @DippyonTour on Twitter and the Natural History Museum and tour partner social media feeds as well as and visiting nhm.ac.uk/dippyontour

#DippyonTour
#NaturalHistoryAdventures

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