National Poo Museum facts for kids
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A 'poo tree' at Sandown Zoo
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| Established | 25 March 2016 |
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| Location | Mobile, to be Sandown Barrack Battery, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom |
| Founder | Daniel Roberts, Nigel George, Dave Badman |
The National Poo Museum is a unique museum located on the Isle of Wight in southern England. It is all about collecting, keeping, and showing different types of faeces, which is another word for poo!
The museum first opened on March 25, 2016. It started as a mobile museum, meaning it could travel to different places. Now, it has a permanent home at Sandown Barrack Battery. In 2025, the museum went on a special year-long tour. Because of this, it was not at its usual spot. But don't worry, it is not closed forever!
Contents
What's Inside the Poo Museum?
How Poo is Displayed
The museum displays poo in a very special way. Each sample is placed inside clear, round balls made of polyester resin. This means you can see and even hold the poo without any mess!
First, the poo needs to be dried. This can take up to two weeks. After it's dry, it's put into the resin. Then, it goes into a special machine called a vacuum chamber. This machine removes any tiny air bubbles. This makes sure the display is perfectly clear.
Why a Poo Museum?
The main goal of the museum is to help people feel more comfortable talking about poo. It wants to break down the 'taboo' or awkwardness around it. The museum even hopes to get donations of poo from famous people!
It also teaches important lessons about poo-related issues. These include problems like dog fouling (when dogs leave their waste) and sanitation. Sanitation is about keeping places clean and healthy, especially with waste.
The museum was started by a group called Eccleston George. They are creative people who work on many projects together. They are based on the Isle of Wight.
Poo at the Zoo: The First Show
Amazing Animal Poos
The very first public exhibition was called "Poo at the Zoo." It opened on March 25, 2016, at the Isle of Wight Zoo. This show featured 20 different types of animal poo!
Some of the interesting poos on display included:
- A tiny poo from a Lesser hedgehog tenrec
- Poo from a Tawny Owl
- A big sample from a Lion
- Poo from a Meerkat
- Cow poo
- Poo from a Fox
- A human baby's poo
- A very old poo, 38 million years old!
- A coprolite, which is fossilized poo, from 140 million years ago
- A poo that had teeth and bones inside it
- A poo that looked just like a cereal bar
- A child's shoe that a cat had marked by pooing in it
Where the Samples Came From
The museum collected these fascinating samples from different places. Some came from animals living at the zoo. Other samples were found elsewhere. The Dinosaur Isle museum also donated some very old poo samples.
A Permanent Home at Sandown Barrack Battery
The Museum's New Location
The National Poo Museum is making its permanent home at Sandown Barrack Battery. This is an old fort from the 1800s on the southwest coast of the Isle of Wight.
The museum is working to fix up two of the old, unused buildings at the battery. These buildings will hold all the museum's exhibits. There are also plans to build a cafe there.
Funding the Project
This exciting project is happening thanks to some help. The local government gave £15,000 to get things started. An extra £2,500 was raised through a crowdfunding campaign. Crowdfunding is when many people donate small amounts of money to help a project.
External Links
- I Visited The National Poo Museum 2024 Video via YouTube
- National Poo Museum Website
- World's First Poo Museum BBC Earth Explore BBC Earth (TV channel) 2017 Video via YouTube
