Probably the most famous dinosaur exhibition in the world has its home in a museum in Coventry.
Visitors to the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum can see Dippy the Diplodocus for the next three years.
The 26-meter-long skeleton was seen by more than two million people on a UK tour after a 112-year stint at the Natural History Museum ended in 2017.
The exhibition was a “big coup” for Coventry, according to the museum.
The 292 bone replicas arrived in 28 boxes and it took about half a dozen people four days to assemble them, said Marguerite Nugent, cultural director at Culture Coventry.
“It’s been a really exciting process and I can’t believe today is the day we open up to the public,” she said.
“It’s an immense thing to have in the building.”
Dippy sits on a 4 x 8 m (13 x 26 ft) base with a plywood floor laid across the gallery to allow the crates to be unloaded without causing damage.
“It’s not easy moving and assembling such a large dinosaur skeleton,” said Lorraine Cornish, director of conservation at the Natural History Museum.
“You have to make sure everything is right side up, so you have to know your dinosaur anatomy.”
Free tickets were made available for pre-sales, which have been used up for the first week of the fair.
But tickets for the day are also available, Ms Nugent said.
Museum officials said they anticipate high demand around Easter.
It is hoped that the exhibition will also give a boost to the inner-city economy.
“We know from previous venues that Dippy has had a tremendous impact on the visitor economy in every city it’s been to, so we’re really excited about the potential to drive more visitors to the city and really show the city,” Ms Added nuance.
Diplodocus Dippy has been on display in the Hintze Hall of the Natural History Museum since 1979
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