Bye bye Dippy

[WarrenJB]

Wow, this is a seriously childish argument. 'Whats better, a blue whale or a diplodocus?' Seriously?

This seems like a great forum.

My only real disagreement with the decision is that blue wales are not extinct. If someone wants to see modern animals they can go to zoo's and aquariums.

To see blue whales?

[Halichoeres]

Wow, this is a seriously childish argument. 'Whats better, a blue whale or a diplodocus?' Seriously?

This seems like a great forum.

My only real disagreement with the decision is that blue wales are not extinct. If someone wants to see modern animals they can go to zoo's and aquariums.

To see blue whales?

1. Welcome aboard

2. Your local aquarium doesn't have blue whales? It's hardly worthy of the name, then.

[Simon]

Wow, this is a seriously childish argument. 'Whats better, a blue whale or a diplodocus?' Seriously?

This seems like a great forum.

My only real disagreement with the decision is that blue wales are not extinct. If someone wants to see modern animals they can go to zoo's and aquariums.

To see blue whales?

1. Welcome aboard

2. Your local aquarium doesn't have blue whales? It's hardly worthy of the name, then.

Maybe not, but the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta has 4 Whale Sharks (Okinawa's Aquarium has 3):

[CrypticPrism]

This seems like a great forum.

We also have cake!

(I mean, it's chocolate, so, you guys can have it.)

[WarrenJB]

1. Welcome aboard

Hello!

2. Your local aquarium doesn't have blue whales? It's hardly worthy of the name, then.

No whale sharks either. It has a seal hospital though. And dublin bay prawns!

On the original topic, it's a bit sad to see dippy go. I managed to see it a couple of times. Following the comment about freeing up floor space, it was definitely one of the easiest dinosaurs in the museum to see - queues for the dinosaur gallery wind all through the hall, around it. To be honest the thing that annoys me most is the almost dismissive comments by the museum, as if an extinct animal has nothing to say about extinction! But I'm looking forward to the local stop on it's farewell tour, and to see the new bronze cast in the museum grounds.

(And I like a bit of raspberry sponge, meself)

[postsaurischian]

What a shame ! No consciousness of tradition! I would have expected the opposite from the British.
Now I also have to find that photo of me from 1981, aged 14 in that glorious hall. Charles and Diana just got married.
That was when I got my first Invictas, which made me a Dinosaur figure collector hero when I got back to Germany .

[CrypticPrism]

I like cookie cake.  The only dessert I like is cookies.

[Crackington]

To be fair though the blue whale does have a long history with the museum. They've had the whale skeleton since the 1890s and the huge model in the mammal hall was the star of the museum in the 1930s, with people queuing round the block to see it. I remember my grandmother showing me it as a child in the early seventies as the main attraction -though I preferred the dinos! This is the reason it was the only non-prehistoric in the Invicta models.

[Moodyraptor]

To be fair though the blue whale does have a long history with the museum. They've had the whale skeleton since the 1890s and the huge model in the mammal hall was the star of the museum in the 1930s, with people queuing round the block to see it. I remember my grandmother showing me it as a child in the early seventies as the main attraction -though I preferred the dinos! This is the reason it was the only non-prehistoric in the Invicta models.

This is true, and currently the skeleton is rather over-shadowed by the model, and by the clutter of the mammal hall in general, so it will be good to see it showcased. I just hope it doesn't feel too distant, hung from the ceiling, and so loses its impact.  The thing about Dippy when you go in the hall, is you are immediately towered over by this amazing beast.  I visited the zoological museum in Copenhagen recently and all their whale skeletons are right at eye level, and they look absolutely spectacular. 

[ceratopsian]

There will also be a special exhibition on whales to accompany the new look to the entrance hall.