The Francis Crick Institute, Research institute in the London Borough of Camden, England
The Francis Crick Institute is a biomedical research center next to St Pancras Station in the London Borough of Camden. The building has four connected wings with glass walls, which means passersby can look directly into the labs and shared workspaces inside.
The institute came from the merger of two London research bodies in 2010, one focused on cancer and one on immunity and infectious diseases. Building work started in 2011 on the former St Pancras Goods Yard site, and Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the center in 2016.
On the ground floor, a glass room called the Weston Discovery Lab welcomes school groups from the area to run experiments and see science in action. The institute also sends teachers and artists into nearby primary schools, bringing science directly to local children.
The building sits right next to St Pancras Station and the British Library, so it fits easily into a walk around that part of central London. Public areas and occasional events are open to visitors, and checking the institute's website in advance helps you find any exhibitions or activities during your visit.
At the 2016 opening ceremony, Queen Elizabeth II started the process of sequencing the genome of Paul Nurse, the institute's director at the time. The building is named after Francis Crick, who started his career as a physicist and only switched to biology at the age of 30.
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