A trio of tarantulas have crawled into the Brooklyn Children’s Museum this spooky season, and they’re still anonymous — but not for long.
The three nameless greenbottle blue tarantulas are the newest additions to the museum’s living collection, and October is their time to shine. The arachnids, two females and one male, will get their names from local kiddos through a competition hosted by the museum.
Creativity is encouraged, but the tarantulas — native to the Paraguaná Peninsula in Venezuela — are Brooklynites now, and entrants are encouraged to take inspiration from Kings County, its history, famous residents, or even their next door neighbors, as well as science icons or story book characters.
Luckily, Brooklyn has a long and complex history and a long list of important inhabitants, so there’s plenty of material to work with. In a statement, Atiba T. Edwards, BCM’s president and CEO, encouraged young Brooklynites to visit the museum or check out some books from the Brooklyn Public Library to find some inspiration.
Locals can submit their name suggestions at the museum’s maker space, Nature’s Engineers. This month, the exhibit hosts “Arachnid Architecture, where visitors can really get into spiders’ heads as they build their own webs and see how many insects they can catch.
Once they’re seeing life through eight eyes, kiddos can visit the three tarantulas, write down their name ideas on a post card, and drop it in the suggestion box. The last day to submit names will be Oct. 27, at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum Halloween celebration — where attendees are invited to dress up in spider costumes.
On Oct. 31, the museum will announce the finalists on Instagram, where Brooklynites can vote for their favorites. The tarantula’s new names will be announced to the public on Nov. 1.
“New York City’s kids are clever and creative, and we can’t wait to hear what they come up with,” Edwards said in a statement. “Grownups, we encourage you to use this fun competition to spark your children’s curiosity and imagination.”
Brooklyn Paper took the liberty of coming up with a few names based on some famous Brooklynites to get the ball rolling:
- Spidey Smalls
- Walt Webman
- Spike Legs
- Arachnid Capone
- Deno’s Wonder Web
- Joe Torr-antula
Admission to the museum — including Nature’s Engineers, where the tarantulas reside – is $15, except during Amazon Free Hours every Thursday from 2-5 p.m.
