The socio-economics of dinosaurs: Dippy storms Dorset 3 Aug 2018

The socio-economics of dinosaurs: Dippy storms Dorset

The Natural History Museum’s diplodocus cast, Dippy's eight-venue, two-year tour of the UK has got off to a successful start. Dorset County Museum hosted the iconic object from February to May and received 153,189 visitors, double the initial estimate. The museum calculates that:

• 125 local school groups visited the museum.
• An additional 20,000 people took part in an associated outreach programme from the Jurassic Coast Trust.
• 201 volunteers were recruited and trained to staff the exhibition.
• Visitors to Dippy on Tour spent over £2.25m, contributing £1.1m to the local economy.
• The museum’s income also increased by 971.5% compared to the previous year.
• There were 401 press clips reaching an estimated 57.8m.

Museum Director Jon Murden thinks that the lift created by Dippy will help as the museum begins its major redevelopment. He said “Dippy on Tour has created a sense of excitement among the staff and volunteers of what this museum can achieve in the future. There is an enthusiasm, energy and can-do attitude which has spread amongst the Museum and town.”

Dippy has now decamped to Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, which has developed an entire subgenre of short films about holidaying T-Rexes in museums as publicity for the exhibition. BMT, BMT (T-Rex holiday), BMT, Dorset County Museum