Museum conservator Lorraine Cornish gives Dippy the once over ahead of the 26 metre-long skeleton's 100th birthday. © Natural History Museum, London.
There by the grace of King Edward VII Dippy the Diplodocus stands at the Natural History Museum in London on May 11 2005, 100 years since it was first unveiled to the public.
First displayed at the museum on May 12 1905 after being gifted by the king, the 26 metre-long (83 feet) Diplodocus has, over the years, become one of its most treasured exhibits.
To mark the centenary a special display will, from May 12 until November 6 2005, tell the story of this particular dino skeleton and its time at the Natural History Museum.
Dippy the Diplodocus pictured in 1905 at the Natural History Museum. © Natural History Museum, London.
Speaking to the 24 Hour Museum Paul Barrett, Dinosaur Researcher at the museum, described the exhibit’s enduring popularity.
"The main draw is the gigantic size," he said. "As soon as you step in through the main entrance you’re confronted by this huge grinning mouth." He described the effect as overwhelming: "especially for very small children they just look up at this thing completely awestruck and they’re hooked."
Affectionately known to museum staff as Dippy, the Natural History Museum’s Diplodocus is constructed out of casts of bones from three different dinosaurs, each of which was discovered in Wyoming, USA in the 19th century. The bones date back 150 million years to the late Jurassic period.
A member of the Sauropod family, which includes the Brachiosaurus and Apatosaurus (formerly known as Brontosaurus), the Diplodocus had an exceptionally long neck and tail, walked on all fours and exclusively ate plants.
The skeleton cast is made up of 324 seperate bones. © Natural History Museum, London.
In 1902, King Edward VII had spotted and admired a detailed reconstruction of a Diplodocus skeleton that adorned the walls of Andrew Carnegie’s Scottish castle, Skibo. He enquired about the possibility of buying a similar skeleton but, as WJ Holland director of the Carnegie Museum where the original was held pointed out, the chances of that were minimal.
However, Holland suggested making a replica. Carnegie then paid for the casting (with missing bones, including the skull, copied from two other specimens) and had it shipped to England in 36 packing cases.
Once in London, Carnegie hired a team of American technicians to assemble and mount it as a gift for the King. When it was unveiled on May 12 1905, for many visitors it was the first time they’d ever seen a complete dinosaur skeleton.
Since then Dippy has been moved around the museum as knowledge of dinosaurs has grown. It was first placed in the Hall of Reptiles and then the Marine Reptile Hall, as palaeontologists at the time believed Diplodocus was a lake or swamp-dweller.
Museum workers assembling Dippy in 1905. © Natural History Museum, London.
It seems the legs were thought to be too weak for supporting its enormous bulk and the long neck was interpreted as a snorkel to allow breathing while submerged.
However, palaeontologists now consider Diplodocus to have been much more active, perhaps roaming vast distances in search of vegetation, its elephantine legs acting as sturdy columns and the neck enabling feeding over a wide area.
Dippy remained in the Marine Reptile Hall until the outbreak of war in 1939, when it was moved for safekeeping. After the conflict it was returned to the Marine Reptile Hall until 1979 when it was moved to its present home in the Central Hall.
In 1993 the tail was lifted from its ‘traditional’ pose (dragging along the ground in a lizard-like manner) to the more dynamic raised position.
