Pooseum

Did you know that some species of caterpillar can launch their poo up to four feet away from themselves? That fun fact is what inspired Karin Koch to open the Pooseum, a small science museum in Australia dedicated to animal droppings.

Stool samples aplenty are seen—not smelled—including the bizarre cube-shaped droppings of wombats, the fur- and bone-riddled scat of a lion, and the petrified mass of a dinosaur turd. Information panels provide everything you have ever wanted to know about how to identify animal droppings, uses for dung, and which food items contain excrement.

The aim of the museum is to educate the public on all matters regarding bowel movements and to de-stigmatize feces in general. Humans can look to their discharge as an indicator of general health, and animals use their own waste as well as that of other species for a variety of purposes, including sustenance, mating rituals, even housing.

Koch hopes that people come away from the Pooseum with a greater appreciation for this highly important bodily function and will perhaps be able look beyond the gross, taboo aspects of defecation and instead respect the many things that poo has to offer.