From a young age, Daniel Khosravinia tinkered and built numerous LEGO models, from knights to the Star Wars Death Star. This sparked his interest in how things are built, and when he learned about the structure of DNA in high school, he thought about how to bridge the two. “I wanted something for LEGO science…but the closest sets that I could find were LEGO space, and how many rockets are you going to build?”
This inspired Khosravinia, who went on to complete his bachelor’s degree in biomedical science at King’s College London—a historic location where the structure of DNA structure was discovered—to create Lego DNA. He wanted to design a LEGO set featuring an accurate DNA helix model with historical elements, including the setting, key scientists, and scientific equipment. His motivation was two-fold: to inspire young learners through hands-on science and to honor Rosalind Franklin’s invaluable yet often underappreciated contributions to the double helix structure of DNA.
The Lego DNA 2.0 set includes notable figures: Rosalind Franklin, Maurice Wilkins, Franklin's PhD student Raymond Gosling, Francis Crick, and James Watson.
Daniel Khosravinia
In 2019, he used digital design software to assemble and render photorealistic models and needed 10,000 supporters to proceed to the next stage of review on the LEGO Ideas platform. Lego DNA featured a double-helix structure and four Minifigures: Franklin, Maurice Wilkins, James Watson, and Francis Crick. It also included a laboratory space built into the base of the helix. Although his first iteration did not move forward, he revamped his design from scratch in the summer of 2023, and Lego DNA 2.0: Double Helix History was born.
Featured in the above image, Lego DNA 2.0 focused more on scientific accuracy, from the sugar-phosphate backbone, complementary base pairs, and the geometry of the double helix. “I modified the model tremendously to the point that it's accurate down to every single atom [in the base pairs], now with a 36-degree turn per base,” said Khosravinia.
Not only does this set feature bricks to build a DNA helix, but it also expanded the laboratory space. The new model transports its builders to the 1950s, showcasing the laboratories at King’s College London and the University of Cambridge. Khosravinia explained, “You can learn about the history of how it was discovered, but more importantly, you can place yourself in the shoes of a scientist, and you can go around the lab from hypothesis to gathering data, to doing experiments, calculations, model building, and validating hypotheses.”
Khosravinia filled the model with Easter eggs: an additional Minifigure of Raymond Gosling, a microcamera replicating the device that captured Franklin’s iconic Photo 51, and lab notes reflecting each scientist’s observations on the chemical structure and anti-parallel nature of DNA. There’s even a hidden message in the big DNA strand that can be solved by converting the DNA code into amino acids—hint, it’s someone’s initials.
Although Lego DNA 2.0 did not advance to the next review stage in 2025, Khosravinia considers it to be a successful project. “I made so many connections and found so many people who really shared the love of this project.” Since he began this journey, the project has taken him to showcase his ideas at the Festival of Genomics, inspired science-communication lectures, and drawn enthusiastic interest from students, educators, and parents alike. Now, the third time’s the charm for his latest submission titled Lego DNA: Science and History.
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