Huge blue whale skeleton puts Dippy the diplodocus out of a job
Leviathan —
London's Natural History Museum plans to install the skeleton of a huge blue whale in its main Hintze Hall atrium by 2017.
Courtesy Casson Mann
Dippy —
The whale will replace the much-loved (and feared) skeleton of "Dippy" the Diplodocus, which has occupied the space since 1979.
Courtesy Trustees of the National History Museum
Bone tired —
Dippy, actually a cast of fossils dug up in Wyoming in 1898, has been part of the museum's collection for more than a century.
Courtesy Trustees of the National History Museum
Marine giant —
The blue whale skeleton has also been a long resident at the museum, entering its collection in 1891, a decade after it first opened its doors in the South Kensington neighborhood of London.
Courtesy Trustees of the National History Museum
Diving whale —
As this artist's impression shows, the whale's skeleton will be suspended from the hall's ceiling in a diving position.
Courtesy Casson Mann
Engandered species —
The National History Museum says replacing the Diplodocus with the whale is an important move that highlights the threatened future of the marine giants.
Courtesy Casson Mann
Hintze Hall —
Hintze Hall is the National History Museum's central atrium and best exhibition space. It was designed by the architect Alfred Waterhouse and opened, along with the rest of the museum, in 1881.
