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Spark & Whetstonethe grown-up commons

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The Shape of Life

Four short lessons on proteins, the folded chains that do most of the work in living things: why shape matters, how a chain folds, what a prediction can and cannot tell you, and how pictures of the real thing are made. Pairs with the Fold Commons Viewer.

For grown-ups, from what ShapeForge teaches children at Spark & Anvil.

  1. Lesson 1Shape is the job
  2. Lesson 2How a chain folds
  3. Lesson 3A prediction, and how sure it is
  4. Lesson 4Pictures of the real thing
At the table · 2 or more, any ages from about 9

Sketch, then photograph

You'll need: A pen, a pencil, paper and a phone camera.

  1. Each player draws a familiar object from memory, such as a bicycle or a kettle: pen for the parts you are sure of, pencil for the rest.
  2. Photograph the real object.
  3. Lay drawing and photo side by side and mark what each got right and what each missed.
  4. Then open one protein in the Fold Commons Viewer and find its firm parts and its faint parts.

Open Sketch, then photograph: run it, or print the seat sheets →

Print the guidebook (all lessons + the table activity) →