Passers-by may be unaware, but behind an unassuming pink door in a Kent town is Europe’s one and only crab museum.

Set in Margate Old Town – and described on its own Instagram page as “a satisfyingly baffling tourist attraction” – the Crab Museum has been quietly building a cult following across the world since it opened a year ago today, writes Angela Cole.

And visitors come from far and wide to enjoy its slightly off-the-wall take on history, science and the bigger issues such as the climate emergency.

On entering, visitors are immediately greeted with the realisation that the Crab Museum is not like a conventional museum, as its walls are covered with cartoons documenting the history of the world as we know it with laugh out loud captions.

Directors Ned Suesat-Williams, 29, his older brother Bertie Terrilliams, 32, and Ned’s friend from university, Chase Coley, 31, were so dedicated to launching the museum in their home town, that they spent a year raising funds, which included going to some drastic lengths – Ned even moved to a tiny flat in China specifically to save money for the project.

He said: “We wanted to do it and we thought ‘What is important to us? What is the elephant in the room? It is obviously the climate crisis.’ So we knew it needed to be a science-focussed venture.

“We chose crabs because they are funny looking; everybody knows about crabs. They are just about weird enough. It would have been great to open a museum about slugs but that might have been too weird!!”

But he added: “It is about crabs and it is about science, and it is a different way of looking at science. You can take whatever you want from it. We are serious about being funny, though.”

Recently they were also the environmental partner to the social initiative Rise Up Clean Up with a mission to clean up Margate's beaches.

The family-friendly museum, which has illustrations by artist Ed Stockham, is packed with fascinating and surprising facts about crabs and how they fit into our eco system, as well as historical stories and a few tall tales to make sure visitors are paying attention.

Whitstable’s 50ft ‘Crabzilla’ which featured on KentOnline in 2014 even makes an appearance.

Ned said: “It’s about making science accessible and giving children an alternative way to learn about and look at science.”

The three, who are supported by a small army of volunteers, are determined it should remain free, so that it is accessible to all, and are currently Crowdfunding to take their alternative science teaching to a wider audience, including schools, as well as holding talks in their Broad Street home.

To find out more on the crowdfunding campaign go to: spacehive.com/crabmuseum and follow them on social media @crabmuseum.

Fundraising events include a first birthday Craboake night, including a singing squid and a crab DJing badly, tonight (Saturday, October 22) at the museum.