Dippy is a landmark public sculpture

Sculpture

Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...

 of a Diplodocus

Diplodocus

Diplodocus , or )is a genus of diplodocid sauropod dinosaur whose fossils were first discovered in 1877 by S. W. Williston. The generic name, coined by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1878, is a Neo-Latin term derived from Greek "double" and "beam", in reference to its double-beamed chevron bones...

 dinosaur

Dinosaur

Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...

 on the grounds of the Carnegie Institute and Library complex

Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh

Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh are four museums that are operated by the Carnegie Institute headquartered in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...

 in the Oakland

Oakland (Pittsburgh)

Oakland is the academic, cultural, and healthcare center of Pittsburgh and is Pennsylvania's third largest "Downtown". Only Center City Philadelphia and Downtown Pittsburgh can claim more economic and social activity than Oakland...

 neighborhood of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...

, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

.

The life-size fiberglass

Fiberglass

Glass fiber is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass.Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers, but mass manufacture of glass fiber was only made possible with the invention of finer machine tooling...

 model depicts Diplodocus carnegii, a species named for Andrew Carnegie

Andrew Carnegie

Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...

 (1835–1919), the Scottish-American industrialist. The dark, grayish brown sculpture weighs 3,000 pounds, stands 22 feet, and measures 84 feet in length. Sited along Forbes Avenue

Forbes Avenue

Forbes Avenue is one of the longest streets in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It has a length of about ten miles and is named for General John Forbes , whose expedition recaptured Fort Duquesne and who renamed the place Pittsburgh in 1758.The westernmost terminus of Forbes Avenue lies at...

 near Schenley Plaza

Schenley Plaza

Schenley Plaza is a public park serving as the grand entrance into Schenley Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.The plaza, located on Forbes Avenue and Schenley Drive in the city's Oakland district, includes multiple gardens, food kiosks, public meeting spaces, a carousel, and a prominent "Emerald...

 and the lawn of the University of Pittsburgh

University of Pittsburgh

The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...

's Cathedral of Learning

Cathedral of Learning

The Cathedral of Learning, a Pittsburgh landmark listed in the National Register of Historic Places, is the centerpiece of the University of Pittsburgh's main campus in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States...

, Dippy stands adjacent to the entrances of the Carnegie Music Hall and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History

Carnegie Museum of Natural History

Carnegie Museum of Natural History, located at 4400 Forbes Avenue in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, was founded by the Pittsburgh-based industrialist Andrew Carnegie in 1896...

.

History

Dippy was created in 1999 by the Carnegie Museums in tribute to the 100th anniversary of an expedition—financed by Andrew Carnegie—which discovered Diplodicus fossils in the badlands of Wyoming

Wyoming

Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...

.

The best specimen the team uncovered on July 4, 1899 was a nearly complete fossil skeleton of Diplodicus. Team member Arthur Coggeshall joked that the fossil should be called "Star-Spangled Dinosaur", because of its July 4th finding. Carnegie's friends, however, dubbed it "Dippy", which was first displayed to great acclaim in 1907. The name has stuck ever since.

The English King Edward VII

Edward VII of the United Kingdom

Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...

, when he visited at Carnegie's Skibo Castle

Skibo Castle

Skibo Castle is located to the west of Dornoch in the Highland county of Sutherland, Scotland overlooking the Dornoch Firth. Although the castle dates back to the 12th century, the present structure is largely of the 19th century, and early 20th century, when it was the home of industrialist...

 in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, asked for a plaster cast to be displayed in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. Soon Kaiser Wilhelm II and other European heads of state asked for copies. Even 100 years later copies of "Dippy" are displayed in the Natural History Museum

Natural History Museum

The Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, England . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road...

 in London, the
Natural Science Museum

Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales

The Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales is the National Museum of Natural History of Spain. It is situated in the center of Madrid, by the Paseo de la Castellana. It is managed by the Spanish National Research Council....

 in Madrid

Madrid

Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, the Senckenberg Museum

Senckenberg Museum

The Naturmuseum Senckenberg in Frankfurt is the second largest museum of natural history in Germany. It is particularly popular with children, who enjoy the extensive collection of dinosaur skeletons: Senckenberg boasts the largest exhibition of large dinosaurs in Europe. One particular treasure is...

 in Frankfurt

Frankfurt

Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, the Field Museum of Natural History

Field Museum of Natural History

The Field Museum of Natural History is located in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It sits on Lake Shore Drive next to Lake Michigan, part of a scenic complex known as the Museum Campus Chicago...

 in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

.

Dippy the sculpture was created during a nine-month process from the original fossil, which still stands indoors in the museum's Dinosaur Hall.

In addition to its service as a mascot for the museum, Dippy has been seen sporting the Terrible Towel

Terrible Towel

The Terrible Towel is a rally towel associated with the Pittsburgh Steelers, an American football team in the National Football League . Created in 1975 by then Steelers radio broadcaster Myron Cope, The Terrible Towel has spread in popularity; fans take their Towel to famous sites while on vacation...

 of the Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...

 and the colors of University of Pittsburgh's athletic teams. Sometimes when it's cold out the staff dresses him up with a little scarf.