Kids are always fascinated at parades by the guys following the horses with the scoopers picking up all the poop droppings. They will be just as entertained by this new exhibit in Atlanta.
“The Scoop on Poop: The Science of What Animals Leave Behind,” is a new exhibit at Fernbank Natural History Museum, and you might learn some interesting about the important about waste material.
“Kids will think it’s cool and funny, and adults will like the scientific aspect, like how poop can be used to track animals rather than just being something gross on the trail,” said Lynn Anders, an education programs manager specializing in animal programs at Fernbank.
Most of the exhibit is based on the book of the same name by Dr. Wayne Lynch, contains factual nuggets-- to make a joke about excrement.
But curiosity-seekers can touch and see replicas of elephant poop (plastic mounds mixed with straw for authenticity), take a close look at the 22 live giant hissing cockroaches in their glass-enclosed habitat, and study a trio of scurrying house mice in a segment that explains how droppings can cause disease.
The exhibit also identifies some possible uses of excrement.
For animals such as a male crane, feces are part of an oh-so-romantic mating ritual. To demonstrate his prowess and impress the ladies, a male buffalo will throw dung in the air during courtship.
The exhibit is slated to run until early September at Fernbank.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013 at 4:50AM 
