Metro J-Term 2026: Ribosomes and Tailored Proteins

Welcome to the Ribosome whwre RNA becomes a protein

Welcome to the Ribosome part 2 where RNA makes different proteins and rabbits get loved on

Metro student protein building team decagon in action!

Protein team x with their one hydrogen ion ready to bond

Metro protein team locking pentagons bond to hydrogen ions to lock

Day three at Metro Middle School and it's time to switch the script on the biodome. Four student teams were created with specific folded protein paper folding instructions to make VERY specific protein structures that then go together in specific ways. Start with RNA and raw materials at the ribosome table. The dome emerged after just 10 minutes this way,

The Surprises In The Photos On My Phone

The look of surprise on their faces when the structure just emerged

Three Teams Meet at the Ribosome:

Team Base Ring

Build a ring composed of 10 dodecahedrons and 10 green protein sticks

Bond to the x-shaped proteins with a free hydrogen ion at the top

Team hydrogen ion X

Build five x-shaped proteins with a dodecahedron center, four green protein sticks and one dodecahedron “ion” at one end

Bond to the decahedron base twice at the bottom

Bond the free green protein stick to the ion at the top

Team Mutated Pentagons

Build six mutated pentagon with one dodecahedron and five white protein sticks all sticking out at 6 degree angles

Attach all white protein sticks to all available dodecahedrons and tighten up the structure

Voila! a Geodesic: A Lesson in Emergence

Emergence

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