How to Make DNA Models With Craft Beads for School Projects

The First Half

• 1

  Assign a different color of pony bead to each nucleic acid. Nucleic acids are thymine (T), adenine (A), cytosine (C) and guanine (G).

• 2

  Place 20 beads of each color in a cup.

• 3

  Choose your starting code by closing your eyes and randomly choosing three beads from the cup. Write down the starting code so that you don't forget it. Place the beads back in the cup.

• 4

  Pick out the beads for your starting code from the remainder of your beads (not in the cup). Slide the starting code onto a pipe cleaner, leaving about 1/4 inch of the end of the pipe cleaner after the starting code.

• 5

  Choose your first DNA trait by randomly choosing six beads from the cup. Write down the code and place the beads back in the cup.

• 6

  Pick out the beads for your first trait and slide them onto the pipe cleaner after the starting code.

• 7

  Choose your stopping code by randomly choosing three beads from the cup. Write down the code and place the beads back in the cup.

• 8

  Pick out the beads for your stopping code and slide them onto the pipe cleaner after your first trait.

• 9

  Repeat Step 4, Step 6 and Step 8 two more times, creating half of a DNA strand that is six traits long.

The Second Half

• 10

  Create your starting code by matching your original starting code with the corresponding nucleic acids. T always pairs with A and C always pairs with G. If T is white, A is blue, C is yellow and G is red and your starting code is white, blue and yellow, then the corresponding starting code is blue, white, and red.

• 11

  Slide the starting code onto a second pipe cleaner, leaving 1/4 inch of the end of the pipe cleaner after the beads.

• 12

  Match the first trait to the first trait on the first half of your DNA strand using the same method you used for the starting code (Step 1). Slide the beads onto the pipe cleaner after the starting code.

• 13

  Match the stopping code to the stopping code on the first half of your DNA strand using the same method used in Step 1. Slide the beads onto the pipe cleaner after the first trait.

• 14

  Repeat Step 3 through Step 4 two more times, creating the second half of your six trait DNA strand.

• 15

  Twist the ends of the pipe cleaners together so that the corresponding nucleic acids line up and the beads are secured.

• 16

  Twist both pipe cleaners together into a loose spiral shape.