Fish, frogs, pythons, eagles, and elephants do it, yet poop can be one of those subjects that is hard to talk about with a straight face. However, there is a lot to learn from what animals leave behind.

Media preview for the exhibit will be at 9:30 a.m., January 25. Media can go on self–guided tour of the exhibit before it opens to the public.

A blend of science and fun, The Scoop on Poop! also explores the ways veterinarians, paleontologists, field biologists, farmers, Maasai tribesmen, and power companies make use of animal waste.

The exhibit features large colorful graphic panels, three-dimensional models, and fun interactive components. Visitors are invited to listen in on an animal's digestive system, learn the language of poop in countries around the world, examine fecal samples in a veterinarian's lab, compete in dung beetle races, track wild animals by clues left in scat, see how long it takes an elephant to poop their body weight, improve their Number Two IQ in stool school, and meet a dinosaur dung detective.

The Scoop on Poop! was created by the exhibits department of Clyde Peeling's Reptiland in Allenwood, Pennsylvania, a zoological institution accredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association. Design and construction of the exhibition took over three years. This is the largest exhibition ever mounted about the science of scat.

Exhibition Highlights

Poop Has Many Names. Visitors are invited to push buttons on a world map to learn the language of poop in countries around the world.

A New Alternative. This 3-D model of a modern sewage digester comes to life with pumps and aerators to show an environmentally responsible way to deal with human waste. Outhouse. Most kids have never seen an outhouse, and this old-fashioned replica gives them a chance for an unusual photo opportunity.

Worth Your Weight In ... African elephants are the biggest poopers of all land animals. Step on the scale to see how many hours (or minutes!) it takes an elephant to poop your body weight. Fecal Framework. This full-sized, touchable replica of an African termite mound lets kids explore how termites glue their houses together with their own dung.

Muck Spreading. Activate a video recording of a bull hippopotamus broadcasting dung with his tail. Dung Boots. Watch a rhinoceros kick and stomp its dung so he can mark his territory with a trail of smelly footprints. Ins & Outs. Listen in on a grizzly bear's digestive tract and learn how food becomes poop. Fecal Fakers. See if you can spot animals that camouflage themselves by looking like bird droppings. Dung Beetle Race. See whose beetle is the fastest. Turn a rubber dung ball to move your beetle to the finish line.

Beetles to the Rescue. Why aren't we up to our eyeballs in dung? Activate this video clip to see a time-lapse recording of beetles cleaning up a dung pile. Who Dung It? Animal scat is a great way to learn about the wild animals in your area. Learn to be a scat tracker by matching dung samples with the animals that made them. Diagnostic Doo. Check out the close-up world of dung through a veterinarian's microscope. Can you see anything unusual?

Touch a Coprolite. Dinosaurs left more than bones and teeth behind—some of their droppings were also preserved. Touch an 80 million-year-old fossilized turd. Fossil Feces. Listen to several short interviews with a paleontologist who studies fossilized animal dung. Dangerous Droppings. This live animal exhibit is a recreated section through the wall of a house showing how mice enter our homes and live in our food cupboards.

Buffalo Chip Courtship. Activate a video recording of sarus cranes performing a bizarre mating ritual. The male throws buffalo dung around to impress the female. Special Delivery. This live animal exhibit shows how box turtles spread berry seeds in their droppings. -- www.cmoa.org