A crowd of people on Exhibition Road

Help us build a record‑breaking paper DNA helix and discover how the code of life is assembled, decoded and understood!

Join us as we attempt to build the world’s longest continuous paper DNA model. Clip together coloured base pairs, follow simple rules of the genetic code, and add your creation to the growing double helix winding around the stand. A team from Imperial’s Institute of Chemical Biology will be on hand to guide the activity, explain how DNA works and show you how to extract it from strawberries!

Chemical Biology uses the tools of chemistry to understand and engineer the molecules that underpin life, from the structure of DNA to the development of new medicines and diagnostics. Inside our marquee, our researchers will demystify this exciting field and show how chemistry helps us decode life’s blueprint, revealing how the smallest molecules shape our health, environment and future.

The Great Exhibition Road Festival is a free annual celebration of science and the arts each summer in South Kensington. Join us on 6-7 June 2026 from 12.00-18.00 each day for a weekend of free science and arts events for all ages.

Enjoy hands-on workshops, fascinating talks, performances and installations from iconic museums, research and culture organisations, including ý, the Natural History Museum, Science Museum, the Royal Parks, V&A and many more.
Whether you’re exploring the stars through the medium of Bollywood dance, building a squishy textile robot or traversing the surface of Mars by tasting chocolate brownies, there’s something for everyone at the Great Exhibition Road Festival!

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