That poo is surrounded by taboo, is something the majority of us will agree on. This social stigma is an underpinning problem for scientific research focussed on the development of new therapies related to our gut. “Poo provokes strong reactions. Small children naturally delight in it, but later we learn to avoid this yucky, disease-carrying stuff and that
even talking about poo is bad. But for most of us, under the layers of disgust and taboo, we’re still fascinated by it.” – Nigel George, Poo Museum.
The National Poo Museum in Sundown, Isle of Wight, was founded by Daniel Roberts, Nigel George and Dave Badman from the Eccleston George. It was first launched with “Poo at the Zoo” at Sundown in March 2016 as a joint event together with the Isle of Wight Zoo. This temporal exhibition was open until summer 2016. Following the success of this first experience, the creators decided to open a permanent exhibition and launch the National Poo Museum, which will be inaugurated in Autumn 2017.
The museum shows illuminated resin spheres with poo from all sort of animals, including elk, lion, human baby poo, poos from the wild animals from different countries and even a 140 million year old fossil poo (coprolites) and donations from the Isle of Wight Zoo and Isle of Wight Dinosaur Museum. The founders hope to demystify poo and bring science surrounding this matter closer to the general public.
By Marina Mora-Ortiz
Pictures kindly shared by the Poo Museum