Poo Museum hits the road

The National Poo Museum is to close its doors for the time being – and go on the road.

The museum, opened in 2016, originally as a mobile museum, but has been located more recently at Sandown Barracks Battery, a former public toilet with a Victorian fort.

Balancing fun, education and beauty (remember – it’s in the eye of the beholder!) in equal measure, the museum has proved an unlikely hit with people of all ages, and that is the problem.

Director, Nigel George, explained: “Since we moved to the Battery, we can’t keep up with demand. It’s a small museum and, most days during the school holidays, there are large queues going right down the road. Basically, we have been a victim of our own success. We now want to get the museum on the road and we have been in discussions with three interested organisations, one on the Island and two on the mainland.

“We think it’s important the exhibition goes out into the world to reach as many people as possible with our message.

“When we started, it was always our intention to be a travelling exhibition, and we have had a global response to what we have achieved here.

“Originally, the exhibition was more about identifying animal poo, so you could find out which creatures might be in their natural habitat without seeing them. However, academics found this fascinating and were really interested in what we were doing, and very quickly we turned to people’s health and well-being – and gut health.

“So we will be moving on and hope to tour museums and attractions, and we can even split up the exhibition. The money we make will enable us to continue our work; it’s all about moving forwards. We hope to continue at The Battery in some form, but we’re not too sure at this moment.”