What The Centre for Computing History does

The Centre for Computing History is a registered charity (No. 1130071) operating an interactive museum and educational programme dedicated to the history of computing, based at Rene Court, Coldhams Road, Cambridge, UK. The museum opened to the public in 2013 and is housed in a single Cambridge location open Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm. Its core asset is a physical and digital archive of over 40,000 items spanning 50+ years of computing, including 1,319 computers, 351 game consoles, 15,289 video games, 5,089 software packages, 10,108 magazines, 4,379 manuals, and the world's largest collection of Lyons Electronic Office (LEO) artefacts alongside material Sinclair and Acorn archives.

The organisation's product set comprises museum exhibitions, formal education group visits for ages 5–18 (using BBC Micro, Raspberry Pi, and Micro:Bits), virtual school visits, learning resources (BBC BASIC, Scratch, Micro:bit, Twine), corporate venue hire, retro gaming parties, corporate gaming evenings, vintage computer hire, external exhibitions, a video game timeline display, an on-site and online shop, an Annual Pass membership, and sub-brand initiatives including the LEO Project, Viva Computer oral history project, and Computing Herstory. The underlying technology function is the preservation, archiving, and hands-on display of historic computing artefacts and digital media, rather than a proprietary software product.

Revenue is generated from museum admission (including Annual Pass subscriptions), paid school visits, corporate venue hire and events, retail sales, individual and corporate donations with Gift Aid, and corporate sponsorships. The museum receives no government funding and is sustained by founding sponsors (ARM, Google, Microsoft Research, Redgate, Real VNC) plus additional supporters (MathWorks, Ninja Theory, Orca Scan, Raspberry Pi, Super Rare Games, HFDE Ltd). It is governed by volunteer trustees under Chair Gareth Marlow, with day-to-day operations led by a small staff team headed by Lizzie Salter (joined 2023). Cumulative reach since opening is 160,000+ visitors, including 18,000+ school pupils.

Name

The Centre for Computing History

Legal name

The Centre for Computing History

Website

https://computinghistory.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Centre for Computing History is a Cambridge-based registered charity and accredited museum that preserves and exhibits over 40,000 computing artefacts, delivering hands-on exhibitions, formal school learning programmes (ages 5–18), virtual school visits, and corporate venue hire, funded by admissions, sponsors, and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Computing Heritage Museum

NAICS

Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712), Libraries and Archives (519210)

SIC

Retail-Computer & Computer Software Stores (5734)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Archives, Libraries & Institutional Access Platforms (MPAJAMAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Digital Library & Electronic Resources Operations (e-Resources, Repositories, Licensing) (EDAEAGAF)

Keywords

• Computing heritage museum
• STEM education workshops
• Vintage computer exhibits
• School group visits
• Interactive computing history

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Museum Admission: Visitors pay admission fees to access the museum's exhibitions and interactive displays. An Annual Pass option is also available.
2. Museum Retail Shop: On-site and online shop selling computing history merchandise including posters, trump cards, mugs, books, postcards, and tote bags. All proceeds support museum operations.
3. Education Programme: Paid school visits including programming workshops, electronics sessions, guided tours, robotics talks, and MegaProcessor experiences for students aged 5-18.
4. Corporate Venue Hire & Events: Corporate venue hire, corporate gaming evenings, and retro gaming parties generate rental and event income.
5. Donations & Charitable Giving: As a registered charity (No. 1130071), the museum receives individual donations (including Gift Aid at 25% extra), corporate sponsorships, and major donations. No government funding is received.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Centre for Computing History is a museum and registered educational charity that preserves, exhibits and interprets the history of computing and digital technology. It maintains a large collection of vintage and historically significant computers (including machines such as the PDP-1 and Sirius 1) with hands-on interactive exhibits, delivers curriculum-linked school and public educational programmes, offers corporate venue hire, operates an on-site retail shop, and provides an online digital archive and Friends/Annual Pass membership.

Product overview

The Centre for Computing History operates as an interactive museum with a unified offering centered on hands-on exhibitions and educational programs. The core portfolio includes physical and virtual museum visits featuring over 40,000 historic computing artifacts, structured education group visits with programming workshops using vintage BBC Micro computers and modern devices, and an extensive archive search service. Supplementary offerings include corporate venue hire, retro gaming parties, vintage computer rental, and external exhibitions. The museum also operates a retail shop and offers an annual pass membership. Special initiatives include the LEO Project (preserving the world's largest collection of Lyons Electronic Office computer artifacts), the Viva Computer oral history project, and the Computing Herstory initiative highlighting women's contributions to computing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Museum Visitor Experience Self-guided and hands-on interactive access to the Centre's collection of vintage and historically significant computers (including machines such as the PDP-1 and Sirius 1). Open to general public visitors and families at the Cambridge site.
• School Educational Programmes Curriculum-aligned computing history workshops and educational visits designed for UK primary and secondary school groups, reaching approximately 18,000 pupils each year, with dedicated Learning Resources published online.
• Corporate Venue Hire Rental of the Centre's distinctive museum space in Cambridge to corporate clients for events, receptions, launches, and private functions, leveraging the unique computing heritage backdrop.
• Retail Shop On-site and online shop selling computing-themed merchandise, books, and nostalgic items relating to the history of computing.
• Annual Pass / Friends Membership Annual membership programme (Friends/Annual Pass) that grants free admission and related benefits for supporters and repeat visitors, with reciprocal arrangements such as entry to partner institutions.
• Digital Archive and Online Resources Online catalogue and digital preservation system hosting the Centre's collection records and educational resources, accessible via the museum website, alongside a YouTube channel for educational video content.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 160,000 visitors and 18,000 school pupils served since opening in 2013
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ARM HoldingscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerARM Holdings is listed as a founding sponsor and current supporter of the museum. As a Cambridge-based semiconductor company with deep historical ties to Acorn Computers (from which ARM originated), ARM's sponsorship aligns with the museum's mission to preserve Cambridge computing heritage.
• GooglecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGoogle is listed as a founding sponsor, providing corporate support to the museum's establishment and operations.
• Microsoft ResearchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMicrosoft Research is listed as a founding sponsor, supporting the museum's educational mission.
• RedgatecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRedgate is listed as a founding sponsor and current supporter of the museum, providing corporate sponsorship.
• Real VNCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerReal VNC is listed as a founding sponsor, supporting the museum.
• MathWorksminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMathWorks is listed as a current supporter of the museum, providing corporate sponsorship.
• Ninja TheoryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNinja Theory is listed as a current supporter of the museum, providing corporate sponsorship.
• Orca ScanminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrca Scan is listed as a current supporter of the museum, providing corporate sponsorship.
• Raspberry PicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRaspberry Pi is listed as a current supporter. The Raspberry Pi single-board computer is directly connected to the BBC Micro and Acorn computing heritage that the museum preserves, making this partnership both symbolic and strategic.
• Super Rare GamesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSuper Rare Games is listed as a current supporter of the museum, providing corporate sponsorship.
• Printing (Red Side Up)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRed Side Up (Printing) is listed as a current supporter providing printing services for the museum.
• HFDE Ltd (High Frequency Diagnostics)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHFDE Ltd is a long-term supporter of the Education Programme, having funded technology for the museum classroom and the Tech is for Everyone careers posters distributed to visiting schools. This is a focused educational sponsorship.
• National Museum of Computing (Bletchley Park)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerReciprocal free admission arrangement for volunteers between the Centre for Computing History and the National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park, supporting volunteer engagement across both computing heritage institutions.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Bletchley Park: UK heritage site and museum focused on the codebreakers of World War II and the birth of modern computing. It overlaps with The Centre for Computing History in mission (computing heritage, education) but is broader in scope (wartime history, codebreaking).
• Science Museum (London): Major UK science museum with significant computing and information-age galleries. It competes for school groups and family visitors but offers a much broader portfolio, making it a broad incumbent rather than a direct computing-heritage peer.
• Smithsonian National Museum of American History: US national museum with significant computing and information-technology collections (including the original Apple II and other artefacts). Comparable as a heritage institution preserving computing history but with a national-scale, broad-history remit.
• Museum of Science, Boston: Major US science museum with hands-on exhibits, an extensive education programme, and computing/robotics halls. Comparable in operating model (hands-on exhibits + schools programming) but with much broader scope and scale.
• Deutsches Museum: One of the world's oldest science and technology museums, with significant computing and information-technology collections. It is comparable as a heritage/STEM education venue but with a far broader science remit.

Direct peers

• The National Museum of Computing: Located at Bletchley Park, this is the UK's other major dedicated computing heritage museum. It is already a partner of The Centre for Computing History via a reciprocal free-admission arrangement for volunteers, and shares the same narrow niche of preserving and exhibiting British computing history.
• Heinz Nixdorf MuseumsForum: Germany's largest computer museum, exhibiting the history of information technology from antiquity to the modern era. It is directly comparable as a dedicated computing-heritage museum offering hands-on exhibits and educational programming.
• Computer History Museum: Mountain View-based museum dedicated to the history of computing, with comparable scope (preservation, exhibition, education) and similar collections of vintage hardware and software. It is the largest international direct peer in the computing-heritage niche.

Regional players

• Museum of Science and Industry (Manchester): Manchester-based museum covering industrial and computing history, including computing heritage exhibits. Comparable in mission and target audience but operates in a different UK region and covers broader industrial history.
• Thinktank Birmingham Science Museum: Birmingham science museum with computing and technology exhibits and a strong schools programme. Comparable as a UK regional science/tech museum targeting school visits and family engagement.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/computermuseum
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@TheCentreforComputingHistory
• Facebookfacebook.com/computinghistory
• Instagraminstagram.com/thecentreforcomputinghistory
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-centre-for-computing-history-limited

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Centre for Computing History