Crab Museum on why bums are the best way to teach kids about evolution
[L-R] Crab Museum co-founders Ned Suesat-Williams, Chase Coley and Bertie Suesat-Williams
Margate’s Crab Museum is a much-loved institution, using crabs as a talking point to teach children and adults about biology, climate change, evolutionary history and the nature of truth.
This year, the museum published its first children’s book, A Natural History of Bums. Written by museum co-founder Bertie Suesat-Williams, with illustrations by Inga Ziemele, it traces the history of life on Earth through the evolution of bums – from bumless pre-history to the modern age.
Bertie will explain more in the final session of this year’s Children’s Bookie on 12 October. He will answer all of the important questions: Where do bums come from? Why are they important? Do all animals have a bum? Why are bums so funny? There will also be a game of pin the bum on the animal.
We caught up with Bertie to find out more about the book and what he has planned for his talk.
Why use bums to teach kids about evolution?
Bums were a natural pick to help teach kids about evolution. Everyone has one and everyone finds them funny (well, almost everyone does), but surprisingly few people stop to think about where they came from or why they're so important.
Once you get past the initial hilarity of poo and farts, it's clear that the evolution of bums was a key development in the history of life on Earth. It's no exaggeration to say that life as we know it would not exist without rear ends.
Any body part could teach evolution, but bums are a really effective way of holding the attention of small children. Because, you know... they're really funny.
What's your favourite bum fact?
There is a creature called a warty comb jelly that has what's known as a "transient anus" - one that forms and then disappears every time it needs to poo. It creates a temporary bumhole as often as once an hour. As with the warty comb jelly's anus, this favourite fact of mine is also transient. I'll probably have a new favourite one in a minute. There are just so many!
How has the response to the book been?
The response has been great! We've had lots of really encouraging feedback from parents that the constant bum gags throughout the book have really helped their child to concentrate on and understand some actually quite tricky scientific concepts. I have no idea about sales data because that's not my thing, but I firmly believe that bumholes and evolutionary biology are legendarily cozy bedfellows.
What can children expect from your session at Margate Bookie?
In our session at Margate Bookie I will take kids on a journey back through time, to the beginnings of life on Earth. We'll discover when the first bums appeared and how that changed our world. We'll follow the evolution of some of the biggest families of animals on Earth today, and find out how our ancestors grew such special patooties.
I hope we will all leave with a newfound respect for our own bottoms, and an appreciation of the billions of years it took to give us them. I will even have some props and an educational tool I like to call a "PowerPoint presentation".
Do you plan to write any more children's books?
Maybe! (The answer is yes but I can't say. Or can I? I can't.)
Join the Crab Museum team at this year’s Children’s Bookie on 12 October at 3pm in the Turner Contemporary’s Clore Learning Studio. Book you free tickets now.