An artist’s impression of how the Wexford whale will look in the Hintz Hall of the Natural History Museum in London.

A WEXFORD exhibit is set to become the main attraction in London’s Natural History Museum, replacing the much-loved Dippy the dinosaur which has been in situ for 35 years.

From summer 2017, the vast skeleton of the blue whale, which breached itself on March 25, 1891 near the Hantoon Channel in Rosslare, will welcome visitors as the central display in the museum’s Hintz Hall.

The whale’s bones are set to be suspended from the Hall’s ceiling in a diving position.

The blue whale is the largest animal to have lived on Earth, reaching up to 160 tonnes in weight. The 25.2 metre female whale first came to the museum ten years after it opened following its breaching in Wexford after being injured by a whaler.

It was bought by the museum for £250 from Wexford town merchant William Armstrong. It had previously generated 630 gallons of oil that were sold for profit, along with the remaining meat.

It first went on display in 1938 with the opening of the Mammal Hall where it was been on show ever since, suspended over a 28.6 metre life-size model.

The installation of the blue whale skeleton will be part of a complete re-display of Hintze Hall being undertaken to lay bare the relationship between humans and the natural world.
The Museum plans to change how it creates and shares its scientific research and how the collection is developed and displayed for future generations so that engaging with the natural world is a part of everyone’s lives.

Sir Michael Dixon, Director of the Natural History Museum, commented: “As the largest known animal to have ever lived on Earth, the story of the blue whale reminds us of the scale of our responsibility to the planet. This makes it the perfect choice of specimen to welcome and capture the imagination of our visitors, as well as marking a major transformation of the Museum.”