The world is a strange place. No sooner have the Natural History Museum announced their decision to retire Dippy – their iconic Diplodocus, than I find I’m spear-heading a campaign to save this much loved dinosaur from… er… Extinction. Plans to replace the dinosaur with a Blue Whale skeleton were greeted with horror by people all over Britain, indeed the world.
So far, seven newspapers and three radio interviews (including a spot on the Vanessa Feltz show) have happened within 24 hours, while the #savedippy hashtag has been the number one trend on Twitter. It’s all a new world for me I must say. Why do people care so much? Why do I care?
Well, as a kid I was dinosaur crazy. But I didn’t live near London. The pilgrimage to the Natural History Museum must have come when I was around 10 years old. I went with my sister Katie and our Grandmother. You can see where this is heading can’t you? Yes, that one single day inspired a best-selling series of books…
The Katie books recently celebrated 25 years of success. The second title, Katie and the Dinosaurs, features Dippy prominently on the opening spread.
But Dippy means far more than that. She is a National Treasure, a beaming welcome in the grand hall, where she has been for 35 years. Is that all you cry? Here’s a little more history…
A royal commission of King Edward VII, Dippy was a gift of Scottish philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. It was a bespoke piece for the museum, arriving in 1905 in 36 packing cases. So Dippy has been part of the fabric of the museum for over a century.
The very first Diplodocus was discovered by William Holland, head of the Carnegie Museum in the USA. His great, great niece Martha Bayless still lives in Holland’s house, and says: “He’s not just any old dinosaur, but one that really conveys the thrill of dinosaur hunting in an age when you could just stride out into the wilderness and turn up a whole new species the size of a small airplane hangar”. It is from this Diplodocus that the majority of Dippy was cast. Martha is supporting the campaign, of course, because Dippy really is the FIRST Diplodocus the world ever saw.
In my mind, the fact that the bones are casts is irrelevant; she is as important as the carvings in the masonry of the very architecture of the museum, she is an historical artefact in the story of Palaentology. Star of books and movies, she is a sculpture, a work of art!
In any case, if the argument is about authenticity, half the museum exhibits would be under scrutiny; the museum is full of models, casts and recreations – not least the rather shamefully tacky animatronic T Rex.
As an iconic image, and recognisable shape, she is instantly identifiable to a child, which I doubt her replacement, The Blue Whale is – the skeleton of the latter being a little harder to “read”.
Of course there are other dinosaurs in the museum, although no other sauropods on the same scale. Personally I loathe the Jurassic Park style metal walkway they have constructed, always crowded, slow moving, dark and industrial. It leaves no space or air or imagination, which is where Dippy in the hall triumphs.
On balance, I can see the whale skeleton, although already exhibited in the museum in a bespoke room, will benefit from this planned move. The environmental message – we can still save the whale! – is a good one, although I’m not sure a skeleton being moved is enough. I don’t doubt it will be done well, and in time people – most people – will get used to the idea. But while the plans to suspend the whale in a diving position are thrilling in terms of physics, the skeleton, so high above little heads, will remain remote. Dippy, standing on the floor is much closer, much easier to interact with. You can actually walk around her, and, in that space, project your imagination onto her. You can bring her alive!
The Natural History Museum have been keen to point out that Dippy will probably not be thrown away but might go on tour, and possibly return to a new location at the museum, perhaps out side. But herein lies the problem. Whilst the whale’s promotion was shown in digital splendour, and heralded as a new era, Dippy was banished to a footnote, with maybes and perhapses. And no pictures.
This was a marketing disaster by the museum. Imagine instead if they had actually made a decision about this beloved mascot, shown digital suggestions of Dippy in her new home, and announced a “Nationwide tour for Britain’s best loved dinosaur”. I think most people would have been on board with that.
Instead Dippy has been more or less written off as obsolete, no longer relevant, and old hat. That’s why there are now 30,000 signatures on the petition to save dippy!
So, is this whole argument about “Oh children like Dippy where she is”? No, its more about how information is reported to the public. In the end the Natural History Museum will do as it thinks best. But it should never underestimate the importance of the public’s attachment to something in a National museum, paid for out of tax payers money. It is easy to dismiss this whole drama as mere sentimentality, emotion and nostalgia. But to children, and adults, Dippy represents something so ancient, timeless, mysterious and near-mythical, that the presence of her (fake) bones is truly inspiring. In any case, without sentiment, emotion and nostalgia, all history becomes cold and uninteresting. If we are to love a whale, don’t expect us to stop caring about a dinosaur!
To sign the petition, visit: https://www.change.org/p/natural-history-museum-save-dippy
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