The New Museum That’s Filled with Literal Crap
Dinosaur poop, specifically.
The Poozeum is full of shit. And not because it’s another one of those immersive experiences or quasi-museums. The newest attraction in Williams, Arizona is a totally legitimate showcase of the largest collection of fossilized dinosaur poop in the world.
"A lot of it is from dinosaurs, but not all of it," founder and curator George Frandsen points out. "It's anything from dinosaurs and crocodiles to fish and bugs—even termites. The collection is from all over the world."
You’ll see thousands of coprolites—the scientific term for dung that's been fossilized over millions of years, absorbing minerals from the surrounding sediment that eventually replace molecules of the poop itself while allowing the ancient feces to retain its signature shape—but the most prized piece is "Barnum," certified by Guinness World Records as the largest discovered coprolite.
So how do we know this is preserved dino dookie and not leftover mud?
"It was tested," Frandsen says. "I used x-ray fluorescence on it, which tells you the mineral makeup of an object. So this came back full of phosphorus and calcium, which doesn't really occur naturally and pointed to it being fossilized dinosaur poop."
Barnum is nearly 27 inches long and, just like two other discovered Tyrannosaurus Rex coprolites, is six inches wide. "So that leads us to believe the T-Rex had a butthole that was, if you want to be official about it, about six inches," Frandsen says.
These poop specimens can also teach us about the creatures' diet, physiology, and environment. Frandsen understands the provocative and amusing nature of his subject matter, but also views it as a vehicle for education.
The legacy of the Poozeum dates back to when Frandsen was a paleontology student at the College of Eastern Utah in the 1990s. He bought his first coprolite at a Moab shop for 20 bucks ("a lot of money" at the time) and was immediately hooked. That one piece turned into thousands and his growing collection coincided with the growth of the internet and the ability to track oddities down on sites like eBay.
The Poozeum name was first used as an online resource for other collectors. Eventually, it became a pop-up traveling exhibition that toured museums and science centers around the country, boosted by the notoriety of Guinness naming the collection the largest of its kind in the world.
The Poozeum was continuously a side gig for Frandsen, who had a corporate job in the healthcare industry. Now, he's fully focusing his energy on a brick and mortar version of the Poozeum, built within a historic site that was originally a "Whiskey Alley" saloon and flophouse more than a hundred years ago.
Browse the exhibits and you'll see "Precious" (a unusually large true-to-form coprolite with "a nice bend to it"), "Betty Crocker" (a 52-million-year-old crocodile fossil that contains fossilized poop from an undigested fish), coprolites with shark teeth attached, and the only vertebrate fossil known to have feces in this mouth.
The Poozeum even has fossilized farts, preserved when bugs were trapped in tree resin and expelled gas while dying.
"Every poop tells you a story about a certain time," according to Frandsen.
So far, the free attraction is getting a positive response from Williams, a tourist town famous for its proximity to Grand Canyon National Park, and its place in both Old West and Route 66 history. The business makes money off its gift shop with coffee mugs, shirts, dolls, books, learning games, and other items for sale. You can even buy mini fish fossils for around $15 and small dinosaur bones for up to about $30.
The one thing that isn't for sale: coprolites.
"All of the pieces in this collection are part of a trust," Frandsen explains. "Pieces come in, but they can't come out. I don't want people to think if they donate or sell one to me, I'd just turn it around and sell it to somebody else."
A commissioned sculpture of a T-Rex sitting on a toilet in the style of "The Thinker" (dubbed "The Stinker") has effectively become the Poozeum's mascot. Snap as many photos as you want.
The Poozeum also has art pieces, including carnival-style banners above each exhibit, a replica skeleton of a baby T-Rex, and a recreation of what a dropping from a Titanosaur, the largest known dinosaur, might look like.
There's a lot of playfulness here, but plenty to learn too. Consider it a knowledge dump.