HISTORY

Genesis Research & Education Foundation was conceived in May 1993 and officially launched on 2nd March 1995. It became a charitable trust in November 1998 and a registered charity in June 2000. For the first 12 years of its life, Genesis was based in central London; but in March 2007 the focus of operations moved to Cambridge, in order to best advance the research programme, whilst still retaining a small London base.

The organisation was begun by two Ph.D. students who were invited to 'build a lab' in a dilapidated part of the basement of an independent student hall of residence at Waterloo in central London. Little by little, a disused baggage store was turned into a laboratory; a dingy hall into computer and resources rooms; old workshops into museum and multimedia rooms; and empty store rooms into a science library and archive. Educational presentations & excursions were arranged for students living in the hall of residence above. Later these were opened to the public; and visiting scholars were welcomed to support the research and give lectures.

The public profile of Genesis began to rise in 1999 following a national archaeology tour. The student support programme intensified too with what was one of the UK's earliest wireless networks within a hall of residence. But by 2005, Genesis had expanded through all the available space at Waterloo; and it was time for the organisation to take on an independent existence, focussing more on its core mission rather than trying to sustain a broad range of activities. Cambridge was chosen as the new location because of contacts already established there within the research community and city. Other attractions were the best collection of teaching museums in the country; and the relative ease of setting up research premises.

So, in October 2005, the London project was largely taken into storage, allowing resources to be redeployed in Cambridge. However, a small office continues in central London, together with segments of the museum & library, allowing Genesis to maintain an ongoing presence in the capital.